


Tell Me A Lie

by harry_stiles



Series: Tell Me A Lie [1]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Friendship, Friendship/Love, Humor, Love, Male-Female Friendship, Romance, Sometimes fluffy, mostly fluffy though, sometimes smutty
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-18
Updated: 2015-06-05
Packaged: 2018-03-11 15:13:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 27
Words: 63,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3330548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harry_stiles/pseuds/harry_stiles
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>You would think that meeting one of your favorite celebrities would make your life, but it turns out to be quite the opposite for Grace.</p>
<p>Meeting Harry Styles had to be an absolute nightmare.</p>
<p>She just wanted one picture with him but that one picture drags her into a huge misunderstanding with both him and his band mates. It's enough to wreck her job, and as if that wasn't a low blow, she's now forced to live under the very same roof as the man that created this whole mess to begin with. </p>
<p>But living with Harry Styles can't be that bad, can it?</p>
<p>AU in which everyone's relaxing summer plans are ruined, Harry makes (very) stupid decisions, Liam is fed up with everything and everyone, Zouis play matchmaker, Niall is always confused and the very thing Grace has been looking for has always been right under her nose.</p>
<p>(I'm the worst at descriptions but I promise you'll love this one *lots of fluff*! Just give it a read; it's worth it!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Fated Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I'm really excited about this one! Hope you guys are as well! It's gonna be a really fun time with all the twists and turns in this one. If you like please comment/kudos!

                Grace sighed hard to herself as she stepped out of the office building for the first time since early this morning. Today had to be one of her more exhausting days at work where she barely got a chance to sit down and relax, let alone think. If anything, she just wanted to get back home, curl up in bed and fall fast asleep.

                Pulling her long hair up into a ponytail to get it out of her face, she began making her way towards her car parked in the parking garage. That’s when she noticed something out of the ordinary.

                Usually the streets were quiet around the office. It was located on a backstreet in its own little nook, just a little ways from the downtown. But today was a little different as she watched two girls smile at a man and nod, laughing to themselves as they headed back up the street in the opposite direction. They seemed really happy, and Grace couldn’t blame them. The man in question that was now heading her way was rather handsome and tall.

                She couldn’t help but stare as they walked closer to each other but something about him caught her eye. He looked a bit... familiar?

                _But I don’t have any friends that look like he does…_ Of course she didn’t, this guy was strikingly gorgeous with his long curly, brown hair. Grace pursed her lips and as he got closer it hit her. He was one of those guys from that group she used to adore before work took over her life, Harry Styles!

                Not knowing what to do she stopped walking, staring at him much like a fish would look out of water. She quickly tried to gather herself as he got closer and closer. _Should I ask for a picture with him? An autograph? This is **not** happening! Who sees Harry Styles on the street like this? Do they have a concert here or something this week?_

                “Good evening,” he suddenly said just as he was about to walk past, looking right at her. He smiled and held up his drink from Starbucks between long, slender fingers to take a sip.

                _He’s talking to me!?!?_ Grace took a deep breath, “Oh… Good evening!” She tried to smile back but her brain was going at a hundred miles per hour. “H… Mr. Styles… Can I have a picture with you?”

                Harry stopped walking and looked back at her. He started laughing a bit and Grace wondered if she had done something wrong or made a mistake. This wasn’t a lookalike was it?

                “Mr. Styles?” He repeated as he took his sunglasses off to reveal the prettiest shade of green eyes Grace had ever seen. “So formal… no one has called me that in years.”

                “I’m… I’m sorry.” Grace felt her legs begin to shake. _Not now… God he’s so handsome. God is this real? God are you real!?_

“Don’t apologize. Just call me Harry.” He spoke as if they were great friends and would meet again. She honestly hoped that but she knew this was simply just a one in a million chance. “And yeah…,” he looked her up and down once, his pink lips curling up into a smile. “I’d love to take a shot with you.”

                Grace turned to get her phone out of her purse, trying to calm her breathing. _Did Harry Styles just check me out? He just freaking looked me over and did he just smirk? Is that a good or bad thing?_

                “Here…” Harry said once she got her phone out. She turned to look at him, noticing he had come to stand closer. He was standing so close now she could smell him. He smelled like expensive cologne and a hint of peppermint.

                “I’ll take the picture… you hold my drink.” He passed her his cold cup of drink and she took it in shaking hands. “And don’t waste it.” He winked at her, turning himself around to stand shoulder to shoulder with her.

                _He’s so tall…_ She glanced at his side profile, not even noticing he had taken one shot. The top of her head came about to his shoulder and God did he smell so good…

                “Hey, are we going to take a proper picture?” Harry laughed and looked over at her before turning back to the phone again.

                “Ri-Right!” She turned to face the camera, letting him drape his long arm around her shoulder before taking several pictures.

                “Hope you like ‘em.” He lowered his arm and turned his face so close to hers their noses almost touched.

                “Thanks Mr. Styles!” she stammered, taking her phone back from him. She took a small step away from him, feeling she shouldn't be this close to him.

                “I told you… It’s just Harry.” He laughed again, looking down at his drink Grace was still holding. “You can have that if you want. Gift from me. I’m guessing you just got off of work and you must be thirsty.”

                “I can’t drink after you!”

                “Relax… it’s not like I have herpes or anything.” He scratched the side of his head before going to push his long hair out of his face. “But at any rate… I have to be going now.”

                “Ah thank you for the picture again!”

                “No problem. Thanks for being a fan.” He turned and started to walk back up the street again, leaving Grace to stare after his lanky frame. She had to be one of the luckiest girls right now in LA, to meet Harry Styles on the street this way. She glanced down at his half empty drink, wondering if it really was ok to drink after him. Above all though, what flavor was this? Shrugging to herself, she turned back in the opposite direction to head towards the parking garage. She took a sip, realizing she should have asked Harry what kind of drink it was because it sure was good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter's gonna be a doozy hope you guys are ready! Thanks for reading!


	2. Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Remember, comment or Kudos if you like! It's my motivator ha. Hope you guys are enjoying it so far! It's been so fun working on this one.

                When Grace woke up the next morning she felt like everything from the previous day had been a dream. She stared up at the ceiling in the 6am darkness, thinking about yesterday’s events. He had been so kind and acted like a normal person… It was nearly too good to be true, but the goofy pictures on her phone they had taken together reminded her that she really had met him.

                Trying to take her focus off of him for a while, she went about her morning routine of getting ready for work but with a bit more cheer than usual. After brushing her teeth, combing her hair and getting herself together to look presentable, she fixed herself a nice breakfast to get through the first half of the day. She took her black Labrador, Happy, for a brisk morning walk around the block so he could do his business and get out for the day until she got back home to play with him. Then she was off to work on a wonderful summer morning.

                Contrary to plan, it was anything but wonderful as soon as she stepped foot into her workplace. When she walked in the front revolving door, slightly reminiscing how she had met Harry just yesterday on the sidewalk outside, the receptionist didn’t greet her as usual or even look her way. On the way up to her floor, people on the elevator stopped talking as soon as she stepped in, avoiding eye contact when she glanced over at them. Even on her own floor people were acting strange; they’d look at her and then scuttle away or try to make themselves look busy.

                _That’s odd…_ Grace frowned when she got to her cubicle, sitting her bags down on the other side of her chair. _Nothing bad has happened at the company… I haven’t done anything wrong but… Oh… God… Am I going to get fired? But I haven’t done anything wrong!?_ She bit her lip and stared at her blank computer screen. What else could explain her coworkers acting so weird? They were in on the loop of something, and that something was very juicy. So juicy they just couldn’t stop talking about it and she was the center of whatever they were discussing.

                Just as Grace felt as if she was going to have a meltdown Sarah, one of the girls she took frequent lunch breaks with, walked into her cubicle handing her a glossy magazine. “I think you should see this,” was all she said as she thrusted the thin magazine at her.

                It only took a few seconds for Grace to understand everything that was going on when she saw the front headline of the magazine but it was the disbelief that had her staring wide-eyed at the page.

                **_“Harry Styles spotted with his new girlfriend! Who is she!?”_**

She took a deep breath when she saw the picture of her and Harry below the text. It was the moment when he had turned to look at her to hand back her phone, but the angle that the picture was taken made it look like he had leaned over to kiss her. If Grace knew one thing, even though she felt like everything was still a dream, she definitely knew their lips did not touch that day.

                “This is definitely a mistake,” she laughed nervously, putting the magazine down on the far end of her desk. Was this why everyone was so worked up? Unbelievable...

                “Sure it is…” Sarah rolled her eyes, looking unimpressed. She seriously believed this crap? “So that’s why you’re always so quiet and avoiding get-togethers with us. You were out having the time of your life with _the_ Harry Styles.”

                “But it’s not like that! I simply just took a picture with him yesterday! I’m not anything to him, he's not anything to me.” Grace shook her head, feeling her fingers tremble as she wrung her hands in her lap. The only reason she avoided get-togethers with the people at work was because they weren’t her type of crowd. It had nothing to do with a boyfriend or Harry for that matter. Besides, she didn’t even have time for a boyfriend with how things were progressing at her job.

                “You can stop with the act. We _all_ know.” Sarah sat down on the table across from Grace’s chair, crossing one leg over another as she leaned forward. “So… what’s he like? Is he a good fuck?”

                All the color could have drained from Grace’s face. _What is this? People believe this type of rubbish?_ She was just about to answer Sarah until her work phone began to ring on her desk.

                “Just a moment…” She held up her finger in a waiting motion to Sarah before turning to pick up the phone. She was just about to greet them with the normal company greeting until they started yelling at her first over the line.

                “So you’re the mystery woman! Glad to speak with you! We hear you’re dating Mr. Styles currently and we were wondering if you could give us the inside scoop! We’ll pay, of course!”

                Grace slammed the phone down hard to end the call, feeling herself getting dizzy. This wasn’t happening. This was part of the dream too. Most importantly, how the hell did they get her office number and why did they actually believe she and Harry were dating? Wasn’t it obvious it was just a celebrity and his fan talking? These people were nuts...

                Just as she hung that call up, her phone started ringing again. Sarah raised her eyebrow at her, watching in amusement as Grace picked up the phone yet again with a shaky hand. Hopefully this would be a customer eagerly ready to ask questions about the new baked dog treats in stores, right? “Hello?”

                “Hello! I’m sure you’ve seen it all over the news by now, but we want to make this clear. Are you dating Harry Styles?”

                Slamming the phone down again more violently Grace got up and headed to the bathroom with shaky legs. She ignored Sarah smirking at her and the weird glances of the other employees as she walked down the hall, into the restroom and slammed the door shut behind her. She felt light headed and like crying as she rested her back against the door. She wanted to laugh and say this was a joke but at this rate, she felt like she was going to go crazy.

                _How did taking a picture with him turn into me dating him?_ She shook her head, trying to calm herself down. This would all just pass over after tomorrow, maybe a week. She wasn’t going to see Harry again, he wasn’t going to see her, so these crazy people wouldn’t have anything to talk about anymore. She could go back to a normal life working for Baked Barks, one of the leading companies selling fresh, healthy dog treats, and everything would be ok. This was just a weird, crazy moment right now and it'll be all over soon. Just like a bad joke...

                After about 30 minutes of calming herself down in the bathroom, she slinked back to her desk, realizing Sarah had left and most of the employees were busy at work. She took a sigh of relief, glancing at the magazine Sarah had brought in that was now clearly forgotten on her desk. It was like the damn thing was still there to mock her. _How the heck did they manage to print that picture out so quick?_

Before she could think about it much longer she realized her phone was still ringing off the hook. Getting annoyed, she answered one last call before she would unplug the phone from the wall. She just wanted to tell them to quit calling, as if that would stop them, but it never hurt anyone to at least try.

                “Yeah Hello?”

                Grace froze, feeling a disturbingly cold chill ease down her spine. That voice…? She would recognize that voice anywhere... “Harry?” she whispered in half surprise, half relief. She was hoping no one in the office would hear so she leaned even closer to the phone. If they did, that would confirm their suspicions and that was the last thing she needed.

                “Mhmm. It’s me… from yesterday. I’m sorry about all this but… hello?”

                “Yeah… yeah!” Grace let out a sigh of relief. It wasn’t one of the people harassing her from earlier, but yet she still felt strange. How had he gotten her number as well? Had someone leaked it maybe? What a mess...

                “Can we… We need to fix this so can we meet up?”

                _Harry Styles wanting to meet me?_ Grace looked all around before lowering her head again. “Won’t that just make this a bigger mess?”

                “Just trust me," he said confidently. His voice was so husky and serious she felt like melting. But now was not the time to be thinking about that... there was a problem at hand that needed to be solved. And fast.

                After she muttered an "ok", Harry started prattling off an address for Grace to write down. He told her it was a disclosed location where no one would find them to make her feel better, and she had to admit it worked. She promised she’d be there at the time they decided on in the early afternoon and then the call ended, leaving her breathless. So much for a wonderful summer day…


	3. Out of the Frying Pan and Into the Fire

She couldn’t believe she was doing this. Not in a million years did she think she’d be parking her car off to the side of a low profile building to meet up with the man she thought she’d never see again, let alone start this unnecessary drama in her life.

                _Ok just deep breaths Grace… Deep… breaths…_ She sighed to herself as she pushed her car keys into her pocket while walking up the stairs of what seemed to be an abandoned brick building. There was a _For Sale_ sign hanging loosely by one corner inside one of the windows, but the place seemed to be pretty much deserted. Nice spot for a private meeting… even if it was creepy…

                “Grace?”

                She jumped when she heard her name called by an unfamiliar voice. Cowering away she noticed a large built man was standing in the corridor right in the entrance to the building. He was staring at her so harshly it made her skin want to crawl. This was the right place, right?

                “Matt stop it. You’re scarin’ her!” A familiar face framed by massive curls suddenly appeared in the doorway of the main building. He gave Grace a little smile and a wave that she returned. He then beckoned for her to follow him, glancing briefly at the man at the front door before he turned away.

                “Sorry… about all of this,” Harry immediately apologized as they walked stride in stride towards the main room of the building. She noticed that the place they were in used to either be a warehouse, or maybe something like a furniture store. Some pieces seemed to be left behind, cobwebs collecting on old swivel lamps and dust forming on a wooden desk not too far ahead of them. She could feel the warm air blowing in from outside through a window several feet to her left, a huge hole gaping in its glass.

                “It’s fine…” she trailed off, knowing this whole situation was anything but fine. She turned to look at Harry, looking over his face, and then analyzing the rest of him. He was wearing all black this time, with his all famous brown boots he liked to sport so often. He seemed a bit tired today compared to yesterday, but Grace could completely understand why.   

                “You say that… but it’s all not fine.” He gave a weak laugh, looking over at her when he noticed she had been staring at him for quite some while. They held eye contact for a while until Grace looked away first, slightly blushing.

                They came to an old beat up green sofa facing the dusty wooden desk, Harry motioning for her to take the sofa while he sat on the desk. “So what can we do about this?” Grace asked as soon as they sat down across from each other.

                He shrugged, biting his lip and looking out one of the cracked windows fading to a yellow with dust and age. “Nothing we can _do_. Just lay low I suppose? Mostly…” He sighed and then looked her in the eyes. “I just wanted to apologize for this whole thing, being drug into this crazy act with me. It’s not fair that you’re getting harassed by the paps and…” he stopped talking to pull out a beat up leather wallet from his pocket after much struggling. “I wanted to pay for any damages.”

                “Harry… are you kidding me?” She almost started laughing at his proposition. She didn’t want any of his money, hell, even if he was some 21 year old millionaire, she didn’t care. She just wanted all this nonsense to stop so she could live her life.

                “Oh, dead serious.” He held up two hundred dollar bills. “Name your price.” He leaned back on the table, placing his wallet right on his crotch. “Your phone was ringing off the hook was it not?”

                Grace nodded, trying not to stare at the wallet placement. _He did this on purpose…_ “Either way… I can’t have you just give me your hard earned money on something like this.” She stood up, dusting the back of her legs off. “I came here to solve this problem, not have you to give me money because you pity me.”

                “Hey… Hey!” Harry stood up, walking over to sit her back down. He was so close again Grace could smell the same cologne as the other day and the faintest scent of his shampoo. “Just… I don’t really have any advice for getting them to stop,” he admitted, lowering his head as he put his wallet back into his tight pocket.

                _So why are we here?_ Grace sighed, biting back her words. “How long do you think this’ll go on?”

                “A few days… At most a few weeks. I mean they’re going to run out of material anyway, we aren’t dating in the first place.”

                _A few weeks?_ Her head was spinning. Why couldn’t her life just go back to normal?

                “Hey…” His voice was so soft and gentle she couldn’t help but to look up at him. “This whole thing is just a silly misunderstanding… It’ll all be over soon. Don’t you worry. Think of it as a terrible, terrible joke.”

                “Yeah…” She started to smile a bit watching Harry’s lips curl into a smile as well. “It is ridiculous how they made up the whole story.”

                “And people actually believe it, that’s the crazy part.” He laughed as they both started to walk towards the entrance of the building. “But trust me, it’ll all be over soon!”

                As soon as those words were out of Harry’s mouth and they stepped outside of the building, Grace could tell something was wrong. The man from earlier dressed in all black was no longer standing just inside the door and there was a weird clicking noise coming from the street. After a few seconds Grace instantly recognized the noise. Camera shutters.

                “Shit…” Harry muttered under his breath, his voice so close to her ear it scared her a bit.

                Grace looked around at him then followed his line of sight and began to pale when she noticed what seemed like hundreds of paparazzi swarming not too far away from them. _How did they get here!? How did they even know we were here?! This is a disaster…_

                Suddenly she felt Harry’s large hand grab her upper arm, almost making her squeak at how tight he grabbed it. He lowered his lips down to her ear, his eyes still on the paps as he whispered harshly into her ear, “I want you to stay with me ok? And whatever you do, don’t let go of me and don’t look at them or the cameras either.”

                Before she could even say anything Harry yanked her arm after him, starting their run towards his black SUV parked under a fading awning. Not long after they began to run, Grace could already hear the shouts of their pursuers intensifying and the sound of their footsteps following behind.

                _God what did I do to deserve this!?_ Grace yanked the passenger side of the SUV open as soon as they got to it and hopped in with Harry quickly following on the driver's side. She hit the locks, watching in panic as the people drew nearer and nearer.

                “Drive!” She screamed as she quickly put on her seatbelt, trying to not look into the cameras as the SUV rumbled to life when Harry turned the key in the ignition.

                “What do you think I’m doing?” He shouted back, quickly putting the huge truck in reverse and flooring it. Grace felt like all of her organs were going to come out as the truck lurched backwards, tearing down one of the rotting wooden posts that held up the awning. She could feel and hear it crash down onto the back end of the truck, but car damage was the last thing on her mind right now.

                “Shit… Shit… Shit…” Harry grumbled profanities as he pushed the stick into drive, flooring it again and swerving past the people still trying to chase after the truck. The truck bounced over a curb, scaring Grace into thinking it was a person, but not a single person was harmed as they sped away from the scene.

                The next thing Grace knew, she was flying down the street at nearly 70mph with Harry. Her mind was going a million miles per hour as she tried to understand their situation but it was all too much for her to take in. “What the hell was that?” she suddenly shouted, feeling a headache starting to come on.

                “How do I know?” Harry took a deep sigh. “How the fuck did they even find us… Why is this happening…”

                _Same Styles… Same…_ Grace sighed as well, putting her head back on the seat. This day was going from good, to bad, to worse in a matter of minutes.

                Suddenly, the sound of sirens filled the air behind the truck. Both Harry and Grace looked into the rearview mirror and then at each other after they saw the two flashing red and blue lights. Harry let out another stream of curse words as he slowed the truck down to pull it over to the side of the road.

                “I can’t believe this is happening…” Grace whined as the cop got out of his car and headed towards them briskly. This day couldn’t get any worse…

                “Step out of the vehicle!” The officer still in the car yelled into the speaker phone.

                Harry glanced over at Grace, rolling his eyes before he opened his car door. She followed suit, the chain of events happening next occurring so quickly it made her head spin.

                “You’re under arrest! Hands on the car!” The first officer shouted, advancing towards Harry quickly with his hand on his gun hostler.

                “Wh-What?!” Harry looked surprised as the officer pushed him towards the car without giving him time to react.

                “You heard me. You were going 50 mph over the speed limit!"

                “But we were being chased! Did you not just see that huge crowd of paparazzi back there?”

                “Hands on the vehicle!” The second officer shouted over Harry as he walked from the squad car and towards Grace.

                “Hey, keep her out of this!” Harry said, moving towards her.

                “Sir!” the first officer grabbed Harry by the wrist, easily grabbing his other arm as well. He threw him up against the hood of the car, pressing his face into the hot metal. “I said hands on the vehicle!”

                “Don’t hurt him! Please!” Grace didn’t move as the second officer approached her, allowing him to slip handcuffs onto her wrists but he was anything less than gentle as well. This was so unnecessary...

                “So we got Harry Styles and his new little love bird? Seen you guys all over the news.” The second officer laughed, looking Grace over.

                “Keep your hands off of her! Your eyes too…!” Harry was strangely vocal, trying to pull his face off the hood of the car as the officer still held his head down while he slipped handcuffs onto his wrists.

                “Wait until they see the new news on you now kid, your career is going…” The officer holding Grace made a downward whistle noise before laughing harder than he needed to. “Come on Hank, let’s get ‘em back to the station.” He pushed Grace towards the squad car harshly, intensifying her headache.

                “Would be pleasant to get these two off of our hands,” the one named Hank said, pulling Harry’s head up by his hair and pushing him along as well. “Move it kid.”

                Grace couldn’t get the panicked look off of her face as the unnamed officer slid her into the backseat with Harry. The back doors were closed behind them, closing them off from the outside world. She avoided looking at Harry, but out of the corner of her eye she could see the concerned and apologetic look on his face, as well as a huge brown-red, ugly bruise forming on his left cheek and a busted, bleeding lip to match on that same side.

                “I’m sorry…” he whispered to her as Hank accelerated the cop car none-too-gently.

                Grace could actually feel how sorry he was, glancing up at him briefly. "No... I'm sorry..." she quietly said. He looked a mess… she knew she did as well… All of this was a huge mess and she wasn't quite sure how they'd get out of this one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for getting this one up later than usual! Will try to get faster with updating but sometimes school takes over. Hope you guys are still enjoying it!!!
> 
> Subscribe (if you want) so you'll know as soon as possible what happens next to our two 'love birds'!


	4. Living Conditions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's what you've all been waiting on (sorry for the delay!!)  
> You might be pleasantly surprised by the introduction of one of your favorites.  
> Happy reading!

                Grace wasn’t the type to cry often, but today had to be one of those days she just wanted to cry all the way through. With the events going on in her life though, who could blame her?

                It had been a long and rough day, starting off at the office, and then her ending up at the police station in a holding cell with Harry who wouldn’t stop apologizing.

                “Harry it’s not your fault…” she said to him again for the umpteenth time, wiping the drying blood off of his bottom lip with a napkin the man at the front desk had unhappily given her. “None of this is.”

                “50 over the speed limit though! Neither of us would be in this mess if I hadn’t had done any of this.”

                Grace sighed, tired of talking in circles with him for at least an hour on how this wasn’t his fault. He flinched when she moved the napkin up to brush away some stray blood around his bruised cheek. “Harry… just breathe for a moment. Everything will be ok.”

                “No it won’t!” He rolled his eyes and furrowed his eyebrows, refusing to look at her. “They want someone to pay a million to get both of us out. We aren’t going anywhere.”

                Grace’s eyes widened in shock, her hand slowly moving away from Harry’s face. “One… million?”

                “I don’t even think the other guys know… Plus they have to pay off the speeding ticket too and that’s in the hundreds!” He put his face in his hands, closing off the conversation.

                _How are we going to get out of this one…_ Grace sighed, placing the bloodied napkin on the bench between them. Hours seemed to have passed as Harry slowly curled up on the bench, seeming to fall into a fitful sleep. She, on the other hand, couldn’t possibly think of sleeping at this time. Too much was going through her mind at the moment to allow her to rest comfortably.

                “Harry Styles. Grace Evergreen.”

                Grace nudged Harry’s shoulder to wake him when a big, burly officer came to the door with a scowl on his face. Harry slowly sat up, rubbing at his swollen bottom lip. He glanced at the officer and then gave her a look as if saying _What’s going to happen to us now?_

                The next words out of the officer’s mouth answered both of their questions. “You’ve been paid for. Get out of here.”

                Both of them stumbled out of the holding cell much like two people leaving a cave for the first time and stepping into harsh sunlight. The officer led them to the front of the police station to greet a slightly familiar looking man with five arrow tattoos on his forearm. He got up to head in their direction with an irritated look on his face.

                “Look at you…” he said, ruffling Harry’s hair as they all walked out of the station together. “Got yourself in a mess didn’t you? And picked up a girl… Nice going lad.” Sarcasm was oozing out of his tone and Grace could tell he was very upset.

                “That’s Grace…” Harry motioned to her, ignoring the man’s words. His eyebrows were still furrowed as if in pain. “Grace… this is Liam.”

                “Nice to meet you under these circumstances,” Liam muttered, seeming to now be slightly irritated. She nodded back at him in greeting. He then turned to Harry as they approached his blue truck. “Do you know how much money I paid to save your ass?”

                And from then on out Liam never stopped telling Harry off as they drove down the street.

                “What the fuck did you think you were bloody doing?” Liam kept moving his eyes from the road to the rear view mirror to scold the younger man. “You, and your little friend, would be all over the news but be happy Zayn paid some stations to not show this mess.”

                “Can I explain?” Harry was surprisingly sitting in the back seat near Grace. She thought he would sit up front with his bandmate, but perhaps he was trying to avoid his wrath.

                “Go on. Explain why our band is now in the center of attention because of you.”

                Harry sighed, scratching at the side of his head. He began to explain everything to Liam that happened since yesterday in a hurried tone. In fact, it was the fastest Grace had ever heard him speak before.

                “Is that so?” Was all Liam had to say as he pulled the truck into a short driveway connected to some very expensive looking condos. Who lived here?

                “Next time, think before you act,” he said as he turned the truck off, the lights inside turning on in the darkness when he opened his car door.

                “What a bitch…” Harry muttered under his breath, looking over at Grace who had been sitting there quietly the entire ride “Sorry about him. He thinks he’s like leader or something.”

                “It’s fine…” she said softly, wondering just where the heck they were. Was Harry going to drive her back home? No… his truck had been confiscated. She’d have to take a taxi back... But what about work tomorrow? And what about her car?

                “Hey, you coming?” he suddenly asked while opening his car door. “Liam’s scary right now, but I got your back.” He winked at her before stepping out of the vehicle and slamming the door shut.

                Grace followed suit, following Harry around to the front of the car where Liam stood typing away on his phone. He looked up when the two approached, the annoyed expression returning to his face again.

                “Why are you two staring at me? Get inside before you cause more trouble.”

                “Get inside?” She couldn’t help but speak up this time. Just where the hell were they taking her? “First of all, where are we, and second, why am I going inside?”

                “Well, in case you haven’t noticed, you two are still in the eye of the media.” The older man then turned to Grace, his face softening a bit. “It’s not safe for you to go back home right now. Your place is crawling with those damned bastards. Someone decided to leak your information, so we’re going to have to get your number changed and some other things.”

                “But how?” She screeched, not believing any of this. How could this all happen in one day? And how the heck did he know all of this?

                “Ouch…” Harry muttered. “They’re more serious than I thought…”

                “Someone close to you I’m guessing?” Liam talked right over Harry. “Anyway, you’re going to have to stay with Harry here tonight.”

                “What!?” Both her and Harry said at the same time in utter disbelief.

                “Liam we already talked about this! I don’t keep girls at my place anymore!”

                “Won’t it just make it worse if I stay with him? It’ll just confirm that we’re _dating_ or whatever!”

                Liam shrugged, ignoring the both of them as he started to walk away. “You guys started the mess, you figure it out. All I know is she’s not staying with me, Sophia’s over.”

                “I can’t believe this…” Harry groaned in frustration, messing his hair up with one hand. He then took a long hard look at her, making her flinch. Was he upset at her?

                “Come on,” he growled, leading the way to an outside door. He swiped a key card to unlock the door and led her up the stairs to the second floor. She couldn’t help but stop every now and then to admire the place. Extravagant paintings of horses lined the wall, what looked like museum worthy vases sat upon wooden desks sporadically placed in the hall...  It was almost like a very fancy hotel. How much did they pay to stay here?

                “Don’t touch anything when you get in.” Harry unlocked his room door, holding the door open for her to walk in. She slid past him, wondering where his niceness from earlier had gone, but the thoughts quickly disappeared when she saw just how big his place was. Did this take up half of the whole second floor? The front door immediately spat them into a nice and neat corridor with a cut out for what was a little closet with wooden coat hooks, a place to put shoes and even a ledge to maybe put mail on.

                “Never seen anything so nice before?” He closed the door behind them, his chest brushing up against her back.

                “It’s just… so big…” She walked forward to get a full view of the massive expanse of the living room connected to a kitchen. An extremely comfortable black couch sat across from a massive HD, flat screen TV. Pictures of his family and his friends lined the mantle over a gas burning fireplace on the wall closest to them. Everything was so neat and clean… It looked like a show room she had seen so many times before in real estate books and this was only the front half. Just what did the rest of this place look like?

                “Hmm.” Harry kicked off his boots, placing them in the spot for shoes. “Well… Don’t get too comfortable. You’re only staying here with me for a night.”

                Grace turned to look at him, hearing the tiredness and a slight bit of annoyance in his tone. “You don’t sound impressed.”

                “What?” he suddenly snapped. “I have to let some random girl into my place to stay the night because of this bullshit. I know _nothing_ about you. Of course I’m not _impressed_.”

                Two could play at that game... “Just so you know Mr. Styles, I don’t know _anything_ about you either. Do you think I’m ecstatic to stay with some guy that’s probably bringing women in here by the dozens?”

                Harry sighed hard, glaring at her now. “So you believe the shit the media throws together about me being a manwhore?” Before Grace could even answer he was turning away and heading towards one of the back rooms. “You can sleep in the guest room tonight. Find it on your own. I want you gone by the morning.”

                _Was that… a look of hurt?_ Grace sighed, slumping her shoulders and running her hand down her face in exhaustion. Staying with Harry Styles was anything but pleasant.


	5. It's Official

                Grace didn’t sleep well at all considering her fight with Harry last night. Plus, she couldn’t stop thinking about her place and how she had left Happy behind for the night. Was he scared with all the people around her place? He hadn’t gotten out, had he? Nor had they hurt him?

                _I need to see about him first thing in the morning. Besides… Harry wants me out of here anyway…_ she thought to herself as the sun slowly began to rise outside, signaling another day's birth.

                _Harry…_ She sighed as she stared up at the ceiling in the guest bedroom. She had found it by chance after he had stormed away, and it had to be one of the most beautiful bedrooms she had seen. The whole room was in simple colors, black and white, save the single wooden dresser against the farthest wall, but the bed had to be the grandest thing in the whole room. The pillows were so comfortable and plush, the mattress just molding to her body, and the covers so soft and warm she didn’t want to leave bed... but work had to be done.

                Wanting to avoid Harry as much as she could, she slowly and quietly got out of bed, feeling her stomach rumbling with hunger. She hadn’t eaten anything since last night but she surely wasn’t going to ask Harry about any food. He was in such a foul mood she couldn’t believe it. He was supposed to be one of the nicest guys in the group, wasn’t he?

                _Who cares… I won’t see him again after today._ She slipped out of the bedroom in silence, not even caring to check her hair in a mirror. Besides, she lacked all her freshening up materials since they were back at her place.

                “Why are you sneaking around?”

                Grace jumped and went rigid when she heard the deep voice call out from her in the kitchen as she tried to make her escape to the front door.

                “I’m just going back home.” She avoided looking at him, clasping her hands together in front of her. She felt slightly vulnerable for some reason, maybe a little scared of him.

                “Looking like that?”

                “You told me to get out of here by morning!” She turned to look at him, feeling like crying yet again. She was so stressed out and really didn’t want to deal with him.

                “That…” Harry stopped, biting his lip. “Last night was…”

                “Save it Harry. I need to get back home anyway. We can’t be caught together.”

                “Hey, hey hold it!” Harry moved so fast he seemed to jump over the counter separating the kitchen from the living room to block her from leaving. “You’re not going anywhere without me. It’s too dangerous.”

                _What is going on here?_ “Didn’t you just say last night you wanted me gone? Why are you trying to stop me now?” Grace yelled at him, feeling all her anger from last night coming out again.

                “Because it’s dangerous!” He blocked the doorway from her by raising his arms. “Just go eat first at least. We’ll figure out our next plan after that.”

                Grace rolled her eyes hard. This was unbelievable. Just what type of person was this Harry guy? First, he gets mad at her for something neither one of them could control, now he’s ok with everything? Had his popularity screwed his head over?

                “I have a spare toothbrush and some other things in the bathroom. Just… chill for a moment.” He led her over to the kitchen table and sat her down in one of the wooden chairs like a child before he hurried off to the bathroom.

                _I wonder if I can get away now before he completely loses his marbles…_ Grace thought as soon as he was out of sight. The bathroom was several doors down, just enough time for her to get to the front door. Then again, she didn’t have her car so she’d be stuck outside waiting for a taxi.

                _Well… It’s not like he’s going to drag me back inside…_ She was just about to get up again and try to escape but Harry returned, talking about getting ready for the day before they, _together_ , would head out.

                Since he was so worried about her, Grace did as she was told, using his spare toothbrush, washing her face with his facial wash, combing her hair out and then heading back to the kitchen to grab a power bar. There was no way in the world she was using his shower, not fully trusting being around him to begin with.

                With that being said, they cautiously headed outside to pile into his other car, a small but cute Mercedes. They sat in silence for most of the ride until Harry spoke up when they were nearly there.

                “About last night… I’m sorry about everything.”

                Grace just kept looking out the window, wanting this car ride to be over. She just wanted all of this to be over.

                “Everything’s just so crazy right now… I was exhausted and stressed out and it was wrong of me to say what I said to you. I’m really not like that…” He was looking over at her but Grace still ignored him, trying to process her own thoughts.

                After a few moments of silence she finally spoke up, finding the air between them awkward and unbearable. “I’m sorry about what I said too…”

                He nodded in acknowledgement to her apology, pulling to a stop in front of her building when she pointed it out to him. She began to unbuckle her seat belt and get out but his voice stopped her.

                “I’m coming up with you,” he said, opening his car door and stepping out before she could tell him no.

                “Harry, relax. If you come up with me it’s going to make it worse if they see us together. Wasn’t our plan to not be around each other so this can all stop?” She let him open the car door for her and she led him up to her floor.

                “Yeah but I can’t just sit outside and do nothing. What if something happens to you?”

                Grace sighed. “If you insist Mr. Styles.”

                “ _Harry._ Just Harry,” he corrected her when they reached her floor. They both stopped, looking down the hall to find it empty and clear despite a few pieces of trash.

                “ _Harry_ then.” She walked quickly to her door, going to unlock it before anything strange happened. Last thing she needed was for the paps to catch her letting Harry into her apartment. That would _really_ stir up a lot of trouble.

                “What’s that noise?” Harry asked when a scratching noise started behind her door. “Are you… sure?”

                “Relax. He’s no threat.” Grace turned to look at him, seeing he looked slightly worried.

                “ _He_?” Harry’s voice rose an octave.

                Grace just laughed at him when she finally got her door open, pushing it in to reveal her faithful companion whimpering and wiggling all over. She squatted down to hug him around the neck, feeling his tongue on her cheek before she pulled away. “Missed you too buddy.”

                “God… I thought you had a boyfriend in there that was into scratching or something…” Harry seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, looking at her dog with a look of both alleviation and uncertainty. “He doesn’t… bite does he?” he asked, watching as Happy noticed him and started to bark at him.

                “No. Not unless you mess with me.” Grace patted the big black lab on his head before heading into her apartment. “Shhh boy.”

                Harry was about to follow her in but stopped when his phone began to ring. He held up his finger in a waiting gesture as he took the call, leaving Grace and Happy alone in their place.

                “Why is he still here?” Grace barely muttered under her breath, looking around the many rooms of her apartment. Everything seemed to be in place just like she left it, but concern began to rise in her chest when she thought about what Liam had said.

                _“Someone leaked your information.”_

                _Is it really safe to still be here?_ She sighed to herself as she walked out of her bedroom, glancing down at Happy until she nearly bumped right into Harry’s chest.

                “What are you doing?” she half shouted at him, completely taken by surprise. She had grabbed the front of his halfway buttoned shirt in confusion but she quickly dropped both her hands, realizing she could see completely down his shirt. _Were those abs? And so many tattoos…_

                “Liam called. I need to get you back,” his voice came out rushed, slightly exasperated.

                Grace tried not to make eye contact with him, still slightly flustered from seeing down his shirt. “What do you mean, _get me back_? Wasn’t the idea for me to stay with you _once_ because of this and then I could go back to my nice, drama-free life.”

                “I mean, you’re still not safe here sweetheart.” Harry shook his head, propping one arm up on the door frame above her head. “Think about this, I leave you here with your trusty dog and every day of the week the damn paps are knocking on your door. And yes, you have a dog but you can’t have him attack them unless you want legal charges. We’re already in enough trouble as it is so scratch that.

                “You can’t go to work because one of your people gave out your work number. It’ll be a living nightmare to go back, am I right?” Without letting her answer he continued. “I want to tell you good news on how these people will back off, but it’s not happening any time soon. It’s my job to keep you safe since I created all of this mess.”

                She finally looked up at Harry in disbelief, not wanting to believe anything he was saying. Happy sensed her anxiety and began barking, making Harry flinch.

                “So… you’re going to be living with me for a while,” Harry finally said, lowering his face closer to hers, so close she could feel his breath on her lips. “Whether we both like it… or not…”

                Stunned into silence Grace stared into his eyes, getting lost in them for a moment. “Living… with you?”

                He nodded. “So let’s get your stuffed packed up and head back. Last thing we need is to get caught together again.”

_And whose fault is that!?_ She looked down at Happy, feeling like once again everything was a terrible nightmare.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keep an eye out for updates all this week!
> 
> I love reading you guy's comments, so keep it up! As always, thanks for giving this a read. There's more fun & trouble coming up!


	6. It's Personal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next upload as I promised! Happy reading!

                It seemed to take ages as she and Harry tried to bring all of the important things she needed from her apartment into boxes that would fit into his car. It took two trips back and forth to get the majority of her things to his place, not including her big pieces of furniture. She found it quite embarrassing when Harry kept pestering her to let him help with the packing, not wanting him to see any of her personal items. She let him deal with the non-clothing related items and made sure to kick him out several times when he tried to enter a room when she was dealing with something personal.

                _This feels so weird… it feels like I’m moving in with a boyfriend or something._ Grace sighed to herself as she carried a box of her clothing out to his car. Not that she wanted to date Harry at all or anything. Even though he was cute, she knew nothing about him or his life. With the events they had been through so far he didn’t seem like the type she wanted to date anyway. _He is a gentleman though… but still…_

                “What did I tell you about this kind of stuff?” Harry walked up to her, taking the box from her and breaking her from her thoughts. “You let me do the heavy work. This is the last of it isn’t it?” He flipped his long hair out of his face, making Grace wish she could recapture the moment again. He had such beautiful hair…

                “Ah! No! One more thing!” She ran away from a surprised looking Harry, heading up to her floor.

                “Happy!” She called the older Labrador as she opened the door to her bathroom. He had been a bit confused with the whole moving process so she left him in the bathroom to keep him from getting in the way. Besides, he was a bit wary of Harry and the last thing she needed was for him to get aggravated and bite him.

                “Come on boy, we’re going somewhere new.” She attached the leash to his red collar, petting his head before she led him into the main room of the apartment. She took one last look around, trying to imprint her home for nearly 2 years into her mind. She could remember her parents helping her move in the very first day and how her dad complained about how heavy all her furniture was. She could remember adopting Happy from the animal shelter to help her deal with her loneliness in tough times. She could remember bringing her first boyfriend over who she had long broken up with. They used to sit right there on the sofa, playing old games together and nearly sharing their first kiss. Happy had ruined it though, jumping onto Jake’s lap with his heavy 40 pound self.

                “Everything ok?”

                Grace stopped staring into the empty space, realizing both Happy and Harry were staring at her in confusion.

                “When did you get up here?!” She asked, slightly flustered. _How embarrassing… To get caught smiling stupidly into space._

                “Long enough to wonder what the hell is wrong with you.” He laughed a little when Grace scowled at him. “You were taking a long time and I was just checking on you.”

                “Well… I could have been doing something personal!” She started to walk towards the exit, pushing past Harry with Happy following behind obediently.

                “Looked like it to me.” He chuckled a bit, looking back into her now nearly empty apartment for a while before closing the door slowly behind him.

                “Get out of my business Styles.” Grace walked down the stairs as quickly as she could in efforts to get away from him. She knew that wasn’t possible, but just the idea of going a day without seeing Harry was a welcomed idea.

                “Well it is my business to know a bit about the girl that’s staying with me.” He followed her down and out of the building, that stupid smile still plastered on his face. “I still know nothing about you.”

                “And I still don't know anything about you!” She opened the door to the backseat of his car, trying to cox Happy into jumping in. Did he get a kick out of meddling with her?

                “Just what do you think you’re doing?” Harry suddenly started yelling. “Why are you putting him in _my_ car?!”

                “Did you think I was just going to leave him here?” Grace turned to glare at him.

                “Well he’s not coming over to my place.” He crossed his arms over his chest. “Who’s going to pick up after him, feed him and walk him? I certainly don’t have the time for it. Plus he’s noisy, he sheds, and he smells!”

                “It’s not nice to talk about yourself that way.” Grace finally got the dog into the car, slamming the door shut behind him once she got his leash all the way in. She turned to face Harry, folding her arms over her chest as well. “We’re sharing a space Styles, whether you like it… or not,” she said, using his own words against him. She then turned to get into the car, slamming the door shut once she got in on the passenger side.

                “It’s Harry…” he muttered, glancing at the dog in his backseat still barking at him.

 

* * *

 

                The ride to Harry’s place was quiet minus Happy barking the first 5 minutes of it. Grace could tell she had irritated Harry again unintentionally by the way he braked the car hard in the driveway and got out without saying a word. She sighed to herself, looking back at Happy who was panting in the backseat.

                “Here we go again…” she said with no enthusiasm. She could only imagine how thousands of other girls wanted to be in her position right now. To just sleep in the very same house as Harry and wake up every morning to see his face. She felt completely the opposite and would gladly trade any of his hardcore fans her life just to get away from him.

                “Hey are you going to sit in there all day?”

                She rolled her eyes once she heard his voice, opening her car door and getting out to find Harry looking at her from the back of the car.

                “Get him inside fast. I’ll deal with the boxes.” His head disappeared into the trunk of the car.

                “Bossy today aren’t we?” She replied under her breath, opening the backseat door and grabbing Happy’s leash. He hopped out of the car, ignoring Harry and headed straight towards the nearest tree to do his business.

                Harry seemed to be a foul mood for the rest of the afternoon. Grace sat in the guest bedroom alone with Happy, sorting through her things while he stayed in the living room to watch TV. He wouldn’t speak to her after bringing her boxes in and she wondered what she could have done to upset him so much.

                _He was the one that started everything about the dog…_ She started to line up a few of her family pictures on the dresser with care. _Was it because of earlier when he walked in on me thinking about Jake?_ She tilted her head to one side, her finger lingering on the last family picture of her, Mom and Dad. _Nah impossible. He couldn’t know who or what I was thinking about, and even if he did, it’s none of his damn business. But he did kind of have a knowing look on his face?_

She returned back to the second to last box on the floor, opening it to reveal her clothes. The guest closet was massive and there was no way all of her clothes would fill it up. But now when she looked at her own clothes she felt a little paranoid and a bit ashamed. Her $30 t-shirts and jeans was nothing compared to Harry’s hundred, sometimes thousand, dollar clothes and accessories. And if it wasn’t enough with his clothes costing that much, he was a millionaire himself and worth probably billions.

                _What am I doing here with him? I don’t even belong here.... He’s rich and famous with thousands of people that love him… I’m a nobody that worked at a dog biscuit company with the only thing outside of family loving me is a dog._ She sighed, tossing a pair of jeans aside and pulling out her panties to put away in the dresser drawer.

                “Did you want anything for dinner?”

                Harry’s sudden voice in the door of the guest bedroom nearly made her jump out of her skin as she bunched her panties up to her chest to hide them from view. They happened to be a pair of pink lace panties she’d hated him to see. “Can you knock before you come in?” she halfway whispered, not meeting eye contact at all. She wanted to yell at him but she didn’t feel it in her at the moment.

                “Well I did and you didn’t answer.” He looked at her curiously and Grace wanted to die. If he saw what she was holding…

                “Stop looking!” She turned to glare at him.

                “Ok… alright! Chill out…” He scratched his head in confusion, glancing over at Happy with an annoyed look before turning his attention back to Grace. His face softened as he asked, “Hey? Is everything ok? You look a bit… pale.”

                “Yes! Just get out!” She tucked her panties under a pair of jeans in front of her and got up to push Harry out of her room. She slammed the door behind him, pushing her back against the cool wood. She felt so stupid right then, but she really needed a moment alone without seeing him.

                “And yes I want dinner!” she yelled at him through the door, not sure if he was even there anymore or not. She slowly sunk down to the carpet of the room, Happy walking over to her with his tail wagging gently.

            Everything was hitting her at once and she wasn’t sure if she could take it or not.

             

  _Harry's POV_

                Harry stood on the outside of the guest bedroom door in shock. Did she just kick _him_ out of his own guest bedroom? That _he_ was so nice enough to let her use? What was her issue?

                He was just about to knock on her door again to tell her to never do that again until he heard what sounded like quiet sobs coming from the other side.

_She’s not crying…. Is she?_ He pressed his ear against the door, trying to listen more carefully. For the first time in a long time he felt his heart drop. He had made plenty of girls cry before, not intentionally of course, but this was different.

            He pulled away from the door, suddenly feeling guilty for eavesdropping. He genuinely felt sorry for making her cry as he headed towards the kitchen, thinking of a way he could make it better in the morning.


	7. Secrets

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update of the week as promised. Have fun reading! You might be pleasantly surprised to be introduced to your favorite this time!

                Grace was suspicious as soon as she saw him the next morning. He wasn’t… normal… He was far from it in fact.

                It all started when she returned from taking Happy for his morning walk. She had beaten Harry awake, much to her pleasure, and taken Happy for a longer walk than usual to clear her mind. Yesterday evening and last night had been rough on her. She barely got any sleep last night, even with Happy curled up at her side. She couldn’t get the fact of being in this mess with Harry out of her mind. None of it was rational. How did she go from just being a minor fan to sleeping and living in the same house as him? Not to mention sharing some of the same things as him. It was almost like they were married, couple fights and all. The whole idea made her shudder. _Married_ to _him_!? No way. First, he was way out of her league, and secondly she wasn’t interested in him in the slightest.

                “Where’ve you been?” he asked as soon as she closed the door behind her on her return. He was sitting on the sofa watching some show on TV, his expression unreadable.

                “Out walking Happy.” She unclipped his leash and the large dog trotted over to Harry to begin sniffing him.

                “I thought we talked about this before.” He turned to look at Happy briefly before looking back at Grace. “Don’t go anywhere alone.”

                _This again._ Grace sighed and hung Happy’s leash on a hook near the door. “Honestly Harry what do you want?”

                “I just wanted to make sure you were alright. It’s still crazy out.”

                “Stop acting like you care,” Grace muttered under her breath, kicking her shoes off near the door.

                “What did you say?” Harry stood up, shooing the dog away from him.

                “Nothing…” she didn’t mean to sound so sad but it came out that way anyway. He always acted like he was so worried until something didn’t go his way. Then he’d give her the cold shoulder for hours for whatever reason she made him mad. She didn’t understand him at all.

                “There’s breakfast in there,” he changed the subject. “I tried to make pancakes but they… didn’t turn out well.” He scratched the side of his head in embarrassment.

                _Something weird is going on here…_ She eyed him before heading to the kitchen to see what he had whipped up. She opened the oven to be genuinely surprised by two large fluffy pancakes that were a bit on the burned side, yet still edible, and three strips of almost perfect bacon.

                “Thanks…” she said out of politeness. He was leaning on the kitchen island when she turned around with the warm plate of food, staring at her as if he was waiting on her to do or say something. “Did you eat?” she asked him in the awkward silence that followed.

                He nodded. “Yeah, while you were gone I ate it alone.”

                Then it hit her. _Does he get lonely often?_ She noticed he looked a bit sad but she didn’t say anything, not wanting to tick him off. “Well thanks again for this… I’ll have to make breakfast next time,” she said while walking to the kitchen table. _With this big place and all, and no one around, I bet he does… Doesn’t he have a girlfriend though? He has to… with all that money and looking like that. He hasn’t said anything about having one though…_

                “Don’t worry about it.” He followed her over to the table and she wanted to die. Didn’t he know anything about alone time? “I’m not just good at singing you know.”

                She swallowed down pieces of pancake at his comment. Not that she was particularly thinking dirty, but with the way he said it, it had her mind going completely in the opposite direction.

                _But he’s nasty and has probably screwed half the population of LA,_ she thought to herself, knowing good and well that wasn’t true. She knew he had dated quite a few women, more than she could probably count on one hand, but she just didn’t want to think about him in _that_ way. He was just the guy she was staying with temporarily, that was all. Nothing more, and he’d never be anything more.

                “So…” He slid into the chair across from her while she was in thought, resting his elbow on the table. He leaned in, resting his chin on the palm of his hand. “This is sudden, but we haven’t really gotten to know one another… and to be honest I think we should start over with introductions and all. We did meet in a really weird… strange way.” He scratched behind his ear. “So I’ll start. I’m Harry and you are?”

                _Did he smoke something last night or is he serious? Above that, can I finish eating first?_ “I'm Grace.” She finished off the last pancake quickly, feeling awkward while he watched her. Why was this conversation happening?

                “Pretty name…” He laughed a bit, covering his mouth with his long, slender fingers as if in embarrassment. “It’s nice to meet you Grace.”

                “Nice to meet you too.” _This is so awkward… but he’s enjoying it._ She finished off her bacon and wiped his hands on a paper towel. Harry offered to take her plate into the kitchen but she declined, stating he was the one who cooked the breakfast, she should be the one to clean.

                Before he could argue with her his phone began to ring in the living room. He excused himself from the table and got up to answer it. Unfortunately, Grace got a view of his exposed hip and part of his stomach as his shirt came up when he moved. She put her face down in embarrassment, thinking of when she had accidentally seen down his shirt. He had such a nice body it was unbelievable…

                _Come on Grace… Don’t think of him that way. He’s just temporary._ She got up from the table to wash her plate off, listening to his phone call instead to cancel out her going south thoughts.

                “Yeah? Oh… Ok… Yeah of course I’ll be there!” Harry seemed to perk up a bit. Grace turned to look at him, realizing he was staring out the large glass doors that opened to a balcony by his TV. Happy was standing by him sniffing at his pants leg but that wasn’t what got Grace’s attention. It was how nice his silhouette looked in the early morning light. She could pick out the curves along his hips, how his thighs stretched the fabric of his black jeans, how long and slim his legs were, and how nice his biceps were as he reached up to support himself on the door frame. He was really something to look at…

                She turned away from him as soon as he began to turn around, turning the sink water off and putting the clean plate on the rack. The last thing she needed was for Harry to catch her checking him out. He would probably yell at her or something, she wasn’t sure. She just didn’t want it to happen.

                “Hey, I gotta go out for a while,” he suddenly said, ending his call. “I’ll be back later; we can finish talking then.” He hurriedly grabbed his wallet off the kitchen counter closest to him and pushed it into the tight pockets of his jeans.

                “Where are you heading out to so quickly?” She wiped her hands off on a hand towel, heading into the living room with him.

                “Just… hanging out with friends.” He wouldn’t look at her as he fixed the collar on his button up.

                If Grace knew one thing, she surely knew how to pick out a liar. Harry was no exception to this either. _He’s lying… But why?_ She didn’t press it further as he checked himself out in the mirror right by the front door. _He must be meeting a girl or something… Good… maybe then he’ll get off of my back if he gets into it with another girl._

“Oh yeah…” He turned away from the mirror, walking back over to her. “We should exchange phone numbers, in case something happens.”

                “Nothing’s going to happen…” she started but the look he gave her made her stop. She didn’t really want to do it but she rambled her number off to him, stating he could just text her and she’ll put him in her phone later.

                “Ok… I’ll be back later!” He was then out of the door in a flash, locking it behind him. For some reason, a feeling of awkward loneliness settled in the place but Grace tried to ignore it. She _would not_ miss him.

* * *

 

                _I should be happy he’s gone,_ Grace thought for the millionth time as she laid on his sofa. She could still smell his body wash from earlier lingering on the sofa, mingling with her own from her recent shower. She decided to take one since he was gone, still not comfortable with showering when he was in the house. It wasn’t that she thought he would barge in on her or anything, she just didn’t feel comfortable showering with a man in the house she wasn’t even dating, let alone knew barely anything about.

                She sighed, flicking through the channels to entertain herself. About 20 minutes ago, a good movie had went off and she hadn’t been able to find anything good since. That was when she had started to have weird thoughts about Harry.

                _I don’t miss him,_ she kept telling herself, but in reality she knew she did. They had only been around each other for 3 days, but in those 3 days they had constantly been interacting even if it was negative most of the time. It was only normal to miss him a bit, right? At least his presence?

                _It’s been 4 hours._ She sighed once again, pushing her hair out of her face as she sat up. She glanced down at her phone, not finding any texts from him since the very first one he had sent her.

                **_Hey it’s Harry! Save my number in here, I mean it! Anyway, I’ll be back later on. Don’t leave my place either! See you then._**

“I wonder who he went out with… Some girl I bet…” Then she got to thinking. Wouldn’t it be weird if his girlfriend came over to only find she was there? Would he explain to his girlfriend the situation? Or… did he even have one to begin with?

                She tilted her head to one side and opened up Firefox on her phone. She opened a new incognito tab to do some research on him until there was a knock at the door.

                _Oh God… What do I do?_ If it would have been her apartment, she would have just gotten up to answer the door like a normal person but when it came to Harry’s place it was completely different. What if it was someone out to hurt him? A crazy fan? The paps again? God the paps…

                The knock came again but this time Happy came bounding from the guest bedroom to bark at the door. Grace got up quickly to stop him realizing that Harry had a little monitor set up on the wall that showed the people outside. She instantly recognized both of the men waiting outside, feeling her sense of dread go away.

                “Hey Harry about the thing the other night… Oh…” Liam said as soon as Grace opened the door, a look of utter confusion on his face.

                “Who are you?” a shorter blonde haired boy asked. Grace knew him as Niall, the cute one that played the guitar in the group. He then turned to Liam and began to whisper, “Is this Harry’s new fuck buddy or-?”

                “No! No… no!” Liam talked right over Niall but Grace heard it anyway. She felt like her face had turned as red as a beet. Her… and Harry!? Ridiculous and repulsive!

                “ _No_ …” she said as well, making Niall look her up and down, a smirk playing on his lips. _What was that look!?_ Harry had given her the exact same look when they first met and she wasn’t liking it.

                “Well, who are you?” Niall looked down to notice Happy growling right by Grace’s leg before he let out another bark. “Since when did Harry have a dog?”

                “He’s mine… And I’m Grace.” She pushed Happy back with her leg. “I’m just… Visiting Harry for a while.” She knew it was a bad lie, but what else do you say when you’re caught in a guy’s house by his two bandmates? She knew it probably looked like to Niall that they were either sleeping together or at least dating, but that wasn’t the case at all.

                “Oh,” was all Niall said, looking over at Liam as if he didn’t buy it at all. “Well… can we at least come in?”

                She nodded, grabbing Happy’s collar. “Let me put him away first.” She led him off to the guest bedroom silently cursing to herself. _This is so embarrassing…_

                “So… fancy seeing you again,” Liam said upon her return. Both he and Niall were sitting on the sofa, leaving the only empty space right by Niall on the three-seater.

                “You two know each other?” Niall still had the confused look on his face when she sat down by him.

                Liam glanced at her and then at Niall, answering for her. “Well… long story short she and Harry have a bit of _history_ that I managed to somehow get tangled up in.”

                “Liam!” she narrowed her eyes at him. _Don’t make it seem like we are dating,_ she wanted to say, but held her tongue. This could get really messy in a matter of minutes and if anything, she just wanted them both to leave.

                “Well its best he knows the truth! Anyway… she’s the girl he’s been all over the news with. His new _girlfriend._ ”

                “Well I don’t blame them for thinking they’re together.” Niall said to Liam but Grace still heard him. She frowned a bit but cleared her face up when Niall turned to face her. “But either way, your solution to the problem was staying at his place? Doesn’t that make it a hundred times worse?”

                “That’s what I’ve been saying,” Grace muttered, giving Liam the eye. He had suggested the whole thing to begin with. Niall seemed to be the only one so far to have any sense and she liked that.

                “What?” Liam played innocent as he held his hands up in mock surrender. “You and Harry started this mess. Not me.”

                “You’re the one that suggested we stay together!”

                “And he agreed to it! Honestly... They’re still talking about it but it’s dying down. You’ll be out of here in no time!”

                The way Liam said it had Grace doubting it but Niall continued with another conversation before she could answer. “But anyway, where’s Harry? I wanted to tell him bye before I fly back out to see my family.”

                “He went _out with friends_.”

                Liam suddenly got a smirk on his face before he quickly tried to hide it with his hand. “He didn’t tell you who with?”

                “No… He didn’t actually. He just got up and left.” When she finished talking she looked up to find both Niall and Liam smirking at each other. “What’s going on?”

                “Oh nothing… nothing at all.” Liam shook his head, his expression completely changing. “You’ll have to ask Harry. Not my right to say anything.”

                “You’re going to make them get into another fight,” Niall muttered.

                “How do you know we fight?” Grace narrowed her eyes at him.

                “Well Jesus Grace, I can hear you two all the way downstairs sometimes. Harry’s got a loud voice when he’s mad, surprisingly you do too. You two match.” Liam smiled at her, making her want to gag.

                “Please don’t say that.” She rolled her eyes and looked away from them both.

                “Just… keep that in mind.” Liam winked at her before continuing. “Anyway,” he shifted on the sofa, suddenly becoming serious. “I came over here to tell him the update on the current situation…”

                “You can just tell me. I’ll tell him.”

                “Well… that might be a bit of a situation I don’t want to put you in…” Liam rubbed his hands together as Niall listened to them both. “You see… it’s… I thought it would clear up but they’re still at it.”

                _Didn't he just say a few moments ago it was clearing up?_ “Off of one picture? Honestly, you know the real story Liam… this whole thing is getting out of hand!”

                “Oh they got more. All I can say, is you two have to play nice until this sweeps over. Give it another week or two.”

                “Another week!? Or two!?” _Just living with him for 3 days is a nightmare I can’t do two weeks!_

“Sorry.” Liam rubbed at his beard. “There isn’t much we can do. I mean I got Zayn to get the police record taken care of but we can’t do much about the paps. It’s their ball park.”

                “You’ve got to be kidding me…” Grace threw her head back on the sofa before straightening right back up again. “Why do I have to stay here though? What’s the point of me staying with Harry? Just like with what Niall said, doesn’t it make it worse if they figure out we’re living together? It just confirms their wild little fantasies about us!”

                “Wild fantasies?” Niall whistled. “What have you and Harold been doing?”

                He started to laugh when Grace eyed him but she chose to ignore him. “Answer me Liam!”

                “Well honestly do you want to go back to your place where they’re still swarming? Anyway, you and Harry brought all of your stuff over here right?”

                _How does he know all of this stuff?_ “Yeah so? I can just go back. Or better yet, why don’t you guys buy me a new place with all of your money.”

                “Nice joke. Anyway, thing is, you’re staying here with Harry until this calms down. Then you can go back to your life of doing whatever. You won’t have to see us again.”

                The way Liam said the last sentence had Grace feeling slightly sad. They weren’t bad people. Hell, Harry was brutally annoying sometimes, but all in all, she didn’t think he was bad.

                _Hell…I don’t want a life with Harry though._ She shook her head. _This’ll all be over soon. Right?_ “Fine. Whatever. I’ll stay.”

                “Good.” Liam smiled at her before patting Niall on the shoulder in a signal to leave. “You can tell Harry we visited. Nice seeing you again!”

                “Yeah… nice seeing you too,” she muttered, fixing her eyes on the coffee table. _Unbelievable…_

“Oh and Grace?” Liam stopped right before he closed to door to the place. “Sorry about the first impression thing… yelling at you and Harry. It was stressful enough getting that idiot out, but then you add a girl into the mix and…” he shook his head. “Anyway just know I’m not always so mean.”

                “Not always?” she laughed a bit.

                “Sometimes…” he smiled back. He was actually pretty cute… “I’m just trying to do the best… the best for both of you.” He looked off into space for a while before he quickly continued, “Take care… And look after Harry.” He then closed the door behind him before she could say anything else.

                _Look after Harry?_ She scoffed. What was that about? She sighed and rested her head on the back of the sofa again, taking in the entire conversation. She could remember to tell Harry the latest news on their situation but what was that whole thing the two seemed to be hiding about who Harry was with? And the thing about _looking after Harry_? He could take care of himself, he was grown, what did that mean?

                “These people are crazy,” she muttered to herself before getting up to get Happy out of the room. She needed to take him out for another potty break and hopefully Harry would be back by then.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Having fun so far? You're really going to like the next chapter then! Will be posted sometime next week! Subscribe to be alerted as soon as it's posted. Thanks for reading and for all those that have commented/kudos I really appreciate it!


	8. Kicked Out

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright here's what you've all been waiting for: the real Chapter 8 haha. Sorry for the delay and keeping you guys waiting but I'm feeling better, I'm really excited again, and I hope you guys are too! If not this'll cheer you up; this has to be one of the more exciting chapters. Happy reading guys and have a great weekend! 
> 
> (Notes regarding Zayn's presence in this fic can be found in the end notes. No spoilers on actual content/plot, but it's pretty self explanatory.)

                Each day sluggishly went by until it was finally a little over two weeks since both Liam and Niall visited. Harry had strangely been upset at Grace for letting his own band mates in but he quickly got over it much to her relief.

                One thing did keep bothering her though. She kept thinking about what the other two men had been hiding, but she didn’t dare to ask Harry. It wasn’t any of her business anyway if he wouldn’t tell her up front but she couldn’t help but to be curious.

                In spite of their previous fights and arguments, the two had gotten to know each other a bit better since then. It was only minor things like their favorite types of music, their jobs and how Grace became a fan of the boys in the first place.

                “What is it that you like about our music? Or do you just like us because we’re cute?” Harry had his back on the arm of the sofa as he faced her, this serious look on his face.

                “It’s more of the music side.” She didn’t make eye contact with him, feeling awkward. “Yeah you are all great looking guys but I like the feel of you guy’s recent album. It’s catchy, it’s edgy, its not bubble gum pop anymore. Great lyrics too!”

                “Thanks…Wrote some of them myself…” he trailed off before continuing. “We’re all great looking?” A smile started to form on his face and Grace knew she was in trouble. “Which one of us is the best looking?”

                _Why is he doing this?_ Grace sighed, shaking her head. Ever since she started liking the group, she did have a soft spot for Harry but she wouldn’t tell him that. It would give him a massive ego boost and he’d probably become even more bossy. _I can just say Louis… he is my second favorite anyway…_

                “You taking this long means you’re thinking it’s me but you don’t want to say it, right?” Harry hit the nail right on the head and smirked when she looked at him.

                “Shut up Styles. Louis is more attractive than you by far.” She rolled her eyes feeling her cheeks grow red. _What was going on?_

                But Harry didn’t seem to notice. “When are you going to start just calling me Harry? And stop lying!”

                “Why does it matter, _Harry_? We aren’t going to even see each other after a couple of weeks.”

                Harry made a downward whistle noise. “Well aren’t you glad to get out of here. New topic: What was your job before you came here?”

                _You mean before you ruined my career?_ “What do you think? Where do I look like I’d work?”

                “I don’t know…” Harry scratched the side of his head. “A waitress? At Hooters?”

                “Harry Styles!” She felt like dying right then. He had started joking around with her last week and acting more comfortable around her but this? Even to begin with, she didn’t have big breasts at all, and what was Harry doing looking at them in the first place!?

                “Wow my mum only calls me like that.” Harry started laughing, rubbing his chin. “Well… if it’s not that… What is it?”

                “I worked for a company that made all natural dog biscuits!”

                “You? At a dog biscuit company?” Something about her working at a dog biscuit company was the funniest thing because he busted out laughing.

                “Well where did you think I’d work?”

                “Well…” he fell strangely silent for a while and she couldn’t help but look at him. He was biting his bottom lip before he said, “Well I don’t know. Just not at a dog biscuit company.” He burst into laughter again much to her annoyance.

                “Well sorry I don’t meet your career goals and I’m not a millionaire like you.” She rolled her eyes at him and looked out the window at the setting sun. What a jerk…

                “Hey I didn’t mean it that way… Sorry,” he apologized, calming himself down.

                “Anyway what’s our next move?”

                “What are you talking about?”

                “It’s been a little over two weeks. I’m still with you. We haven’t made any progress and as far as I’m concerned, the media still thinks I’m your girlfriend.”

                “Nothing’s wrong with being my girlfriend.” Harry leaned forward in his seat.

                “Maybe you think every girl wants to be with you but I, for one, don’t.”

                “Ouch…” Harry held his large hand to his chest in mock hurt. “Well in that case, I’m not interested in being your fake boyfriend.”

                _What is he going on about? Normally he’d just shrug it off, but does he look a bit hurt?_ She sighed, pushing those thoughts aside. “Listen, I don’t know what game you have going on here but I’m tired of it! This whole thing was so stupid living with you… It makes it a hundred times worse just like Niall said.”

                “It isn’t a _game._ Have you forgotten that I’m in this mess too? And why don’t you go move out with Niall then since you think so greatly of him?” Harry became strangely defensive. “What’s wrong with you? We were having a great time, hell we were having a great week and getting along until this.”

                “I would if I could!” She ignored the second part of his question. “Weren’t you the one on the very first night to tell me to get out of your house? Don’t you have a girlfriend you’d rather have over instead?”

                “I don’t have a girlfriend,” Harry said seriously, looking irritated. “Listen… if you’re going to sit up here and be disrespectful like this why don’t you just leave?”

                “Sure you don’t.” She ignored Harry looking her way and just continued, “I’d be glad to.” She got to her feet and grabbed one of the jackets hanging by the front of the door without thinking. Not even hearing him call her back she slammed the door shut and headed out of the building.

                “What an asshole… Who does he think he is?” She muttered to herself when she got out of the building, pulling the large jacket on and zipping it up halfway.

                She hated all of this. Liam said this would all be over within 2 weeks max but somehow the media were _finding_ text messages sent between her and Harry. The content was enough to sicken her but the worst part was she knew someone close to her was still spitting up false information. She had an inkling of who it was, her jealous coworker Sarah that had showed her the story about her and Harry first thing in the morning that horrible summer day. What she was after, Grace had no idea. She just wanted it to stop.

                After walking off her frustrations for several minutes she felt better but as soon as that good feeling was there a feeling of dread crept in. She had nowhere to go. She could go back to her old apartment but she didn’t quite know the directions to get there. Harry had driven her back and forth those times and they’d been so busy being at each other’s throats she never really paid attention to the route.

                Realizing she could just use her phone for GPS, she dug around in the pocket of the jacket in hope but only came to realize it was one of Harry’s jackets. Sighing to herself she realized she must have left her phone back there with him but there was no way she was going back. She didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of seeing her running back crying to him nor did she want to see his face in general.

                _I guess I could try and find my way back? It can’t be that hard…_ She started looking around, looking at the street names but nothing looked familiar. She was still in Harry’s neighborhood, confused, lost, and a bit scared. Even more scared when she heard a familiar clicking sound and the shuffling of feet.

                She turned slightly to the side to see a group of people flashing their cameras at her. Her first instinct was to run but she just started walking fast, pulling the collar of Harry’s jacket up around her face. Today was such a bad day…

                Much to her dismay, the people started to follow her at a faster pace, now even some yelling. The distant rumble of thunder caused Grace to quicken her steps even more but the people were gaining on her, their questions reaching her ears this time.

                “Miss Grace! Where’s Harry? Are you two on a date?” “Have you two broken up?” “Reports have it you and Harry slept together, is that true?!”

                Soon their words became all jumbled together as she began to run. This was so not happening, being chased by these crazy people. She felt a raindrop hit her nose, signaling the downpour to come. Pulling the jacket even closer to her face, she ran through an alley and rounded several tight corners until she met a larger street in order to escape the paps but someone grabbed her wrist tightly. She tried to scream but her attacker pushed his hand against her mouth, pulling her into the shadows and against his chest. She tried to desperately break free, but he was too strong. Instead she took all the power she had and kicked back on her attack’s shin before throwing her head back and hitting them in the face as hard as she could. As soon as he let her go, she took the opportunity to hit him in the balls, jumping away from him quickly as he doubled over in pain.

                “Jesus Christ!” The man said, his voice getting her attention. She stopped and turned to look at him, feeling like the worst person in the world when she saw who it was.

                “What the hell are you doing?” she screamed at him, watching as he held his crotch with one hand and nose with the other.

                “Saving your ass!” He yelled back through gritted teeth. “God…” he groaned, still holding his crotch with furrowed brows.

                She wanted to scream at him _I don’t need saving_ but stopped herself. She genuinely felt bad for hurting him. “You call dragging people into a back alley saving them?”

                He didn’t say anything, just slowly stood himself back up with a groan. She was about to speak again but fell silent when she heard the paps yelling at each other in the distance. They both looked at each other wide eyed until he motioned for her to stand closer to him so they could get into the shadows again. Just when she went to stand by him, the rush of feet came by their hiding spot but they were gone as soon as they were there.

                She let out a sigh of relief, waiting a few more seconds until she turned to look at him in disbelief. “Harry… what…?”

                “You really had me scared there,” he breathed, looking her in the eyes. She had to admit, he looked hot then with that intense expression on his face but she didn’t need to think of him that way. He would be out of her life soon.

                Before she could move or say anything he was wrapping his arms around her and pulling her close. She wanted to fight it, but the familiar scent of his body wash and the honey flavored cough drops he had been eating earlier was welcoming. He strangely felt and smelled like… home?

                He embraced her for only a brief moment, but to Grace it felt like an eternity. “Don’t go running off like that again,” he said when he pulled away, the serious look still on his face.

                “You were the one that told me to get out!”

                A look of hurt flashed across his face when she yelled at him but it was completely replaced by a scowl in an instant. “Where do you have to go Grace, huh? Do you honestly think I’d kick you out like that? Just leave you out here on the streets with this mess going on? Well, whatever you have built up in your head about me isn’t true! The whole thing about me and women, the whole thing about me just being some snobby millionaire, the whole thing about me and drugs, the whole thing about me not caring… All of it isn’t true! I’m not that kind of guy… I never was and never will be!”

                His voice was loud and booming, causing Grace to shrink away from him the whole time he was shouting. She hadn’t even noticed it had begun raining she was so shocked at Harry’s reaction. _Is this what he’s been feeling all along since I’ve been living there with him? I haven’t called him any of those things… well the women part and the millionaire part but where is this other stuff coming from?_

His face softened a bit as they stood there in silence staring at each other in the rain, but the anger still remained in his voice. “Come on… let’s go,” he muttered, grabbing her hand and leading her through the winding alley towards his black SUV.

                The ride back was silent, both of them lost in their own thoughts. Grace felt horrible. She had caused Harry to snap and on top of that, given him a busted lip. She honestly really didn’t think he cared since he was always so nitpicky and bugging her but was that just all the opposite? He really did care? But they had only known each other for 2 weeks… She didn’t know what to think…

                Harry parked his truck in his driveway, making sure they hadn’t been followed before pulling the hood of his jacket over Grace’s head and leading her up towards his room. There was still silence when they opened the door to his place, both soaking wet.

                “I’m-” they both started at the same time once the door closed behind them.

                “You go first…” Harry’s voice was strangely lower than usual. He pushed his wet hair out of his face. If she thought he looked hot back in the alley, he had to look ten times better now with his wet hair. She wasn’t trying to look, but she could see his many tattoos through his soaking wet white shirt. Just how many of the damned things did he have?

                “No… you go.” She looked back up at his face once she noticed his nipples poking through his shirt. _Control yourself Grace…_

                Harry paused for a moment before speaking. He hadn’t caught her checking him out had she? “Sorry… about earlier. I didn’t mean to blow up at you like that.”

                “Don’t apologize.” She sighed, wiping the rain water off of her face with his jacket sleeve she still had on. “It’s my fault all of this happened… I mean…this entire mess.” She refused to look at Harry, feeling like she might cry. “Maybe… you know maybe I can save up some money and buy another place for myself. Then we won’t have this anymore?”

                “What are you talking about? It’s fine if you stay here-”

                “Harry it’s just a mess… I can’t do it anymore. You can’t do it anymore…”

                “Just drop it!” Harry raised his voice a bit, making her jump. He then softened his tone, “I said it’s fine if you stay here. It’s better this way… You’re safe with me. I don’t want you going off somewhere alone with this going on.”

                She nodded, not wanting to get into an argument with him again. With her face still downcast, she could see him moving closer to her until he hugged her again, his wet hair sliding across her cheek. She could hear and feel his rapid heartbeat, worrying her just a bit. Despite being wet, he was warm, and she couldn’t say she hated the feeling.

                “Just don’t scare me like that again…” he whispered into her ear, sending chills down her spine. Was this the same Harry she had been living with all this time? How had just one run in like this change him from wanting to kick her out to hugging her?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, thanks for reading! I really appreciate all the kudos/comments so keep 'em coming!
> 
> Note on Zayn in this fic (for those that are curious):  
> Despite the entirety of the situation regarding Zayn and One Direction, his parts will still be kept in chapters that are already prewritten. I'm not deleting him out or changing things around. If you have any more questions about Zayn being included in the future, you can always ask but right now the answer is no. I don't feel comfortable writing him in after everything that has happened up to date. I just wanted to let you guys know that so there's no surprises in later chapters. Sorry if I disappointed anyone with the news but it's something I have to do. Just know the other four are, of course, here to stay and this decision won't majorly affect this story in any way. Thanks for understanding.


	9. Game Plan

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the latest update for TMAL! You might be surprised by one of your favorites this time around. Happy reading!

_This is so awkward._

                Grace sat on one end of the sofa while Harry sat on the other in his massive living room. He had said he needed to talk to her about something but so far he’d been tongue tied. She kept making little glances at him, wondering what the big problem was.

_“Hey can we talk?”_

_Grace nearly jumped out of her skin when Harry appeared by the bathroom door after her morning shower. After last night, she wasn’t quite sure what to think of him, in fact he had been the only thing she thought about all night. All she could think about was how he had held her, how he had sincerely whispered in her ear to not scare him again… It was odd for him to do it, but yet she found herself liking it despite knowing she shouldn’t._

_“Uh… yeah? Can I just dry my hair first?” She pulled a towel over her head, not meeting Harry’s eyes. It was embarrassing to be caught this way in her little shorts and a tank top. She didn’t expect him to be outside the door since he was usually in the living room or his room, so she just picked whatever she could be comfortable in to wear and go back to her room for the day. She didn’t plan on really talking to him today either so she could sort her own personal thoughts out._

_“Yeah. Just meet me in the living room.” His eyes left her face for a brief moment to go up and down her body. She quickly walked past him to get him to stop, bumping her shoulder into his chest. Even though she didn’t want him looking at her, he liked what he saw, didn’t he?_

_What does he really want?_ Tired of sitting in silence Grace started to speak, “So…”

“We…” he said at the same time.

They both looked at each other before looking away again, an uncomfortable air settling in. The more she thought about it… it seemed like he was embarrassed by something? Just what was going on here?

“You go first…” she said, still not looking at him.

“No whatever you had to say is more important.”

“You’re the one that wanted to talk to me though.”

He sighed, leaning on the arm of the sofa. He opened his mouth to speak but he was interrupted for the second time by a knock at the door. Before he could get up, Happy was up and on his paws, barking at the front door.

“Damn dog…” Harry muttered, getting to his feet to check the screen showing who was outside.

“Hey, watch it Styles!” Grace yelled at him. Harry still hadn’t quite warmed up to Happy but the dog wasn’t too fond of him either so it worked both ways.

Harry turned and made a face at her before going to open the door. She snorted at him, turning away to face the window to admire the pretty blue sky. He had become a bit more playful in the past week, and she wasn’t sure if she liked that or not. It was safe to say despite all the little fights they had, they were making progress in being more comfortable around one another.

Turning back towards Harry, she could hear Liam’s familiar voice greeting him and then the voice of another man. Harry welcomed them both in as he nudged Happy away and she recognized the second man as Zayn, the power vocal of the group.

“Oh…” Zayn said as soon as he walked into the room, looking at Grace with shock written all over his face.

“That’s Grace,” Harry simply said, not bothering to say what else she was to him. The way he was looking at Zayn was a bit odd too. Like he wasn’t quite sure of himself maybe.

“Hey.” She waved at him and smiled, ignoring Harry. Zayn had to look a thousand times more attractive in person and she wasn’t quite sure if she was ready to be in his presence or not.

                “Hey. I’m Zayn. Nice to meet you!” Before she could say nice to meet you back, he turned to Harry and in what he thought was a whisper asked, “She…?” He nodded at Grace and smirked, wiggling his eyebrows at Harry.

                “No!” Harry sounded irritated but looked quite embarrassed at whatever Zayn was asking. “Don’t be dirty,” he lowered his voice.

                “Yes,” Liam chimed in, raising his eyebrows at Zayn causing them to both smile at each other. Before Harry could do anything he plopped himself down on the sofa beside Grace and asked, “How are you since Nialler and I last visited? Harry treating you right?”

                “Of course I’ve been treating her right,” Harry muttered as he came to stand behind the both of them on the sofa.

                “I was asking Grace, not you Harold.” Liam rolled his eyes at him before looking at her again.

                “We’ve been fine…” she could feel Harry’s eyes on her but she ignored it. What was his problem all of a sudden?

                “We?” Liam said under his breath and laughed a bit. “What happened since we last visited to where you talk about yourself and Harry in the same sentence?”

                “Oh stop it Liam.” She playfully pushed his shoulder and he laughed.

                “Come to think of it, you two have been quieter since last time. I take this as a good sign?”

                “Quieter?” Zayn laughed to himself for a bit as he looked at Harry’s pictures on the mantle. He had a serious expression on his face that made Grace wonder what he was thinking about.

                “Can you two stop flirting over there?” Harry’s voice was like a gnat in their ears again. “We have business to take care of.” He sat himself in the small space between both Grace and Liam much to her annoyance. Liam scooted over a bit but Harry was so close to her their thighs touched.

                Zayn and Liam exchanged looks before Liam cleared his throat. “Well it was good until you two decided to go out last night and stir up trouble. So now, you two are really in every little teenage girl’s magazine and all over Twitter.”

                “But wait, nothing even happened last night.” Harry looked back at Grace and then back at Liam.

                “Tell that to the people that got their hands on her wearing your jacket.”

                Grace sighed in disbelief. “Do they literally just throw shit together to make up a bs story?”

                “Hey, watch your mouth.” Harry nudged her gently with his elbow. “When you’re in this business for so long, you get used to it,” he muttered.

                “Back on point…Can’t you both just sit down and let this all pass?” Liam was back to scolding them again. “Honestly you’re both like two children that can’t sit still and need to be watched constantly. Since you two like each other so much why don’t you just fake being in a relationship to give these damn people what they want. Then they can shut the hell up after a while.”

                There was a moment of silence before Grace simply said no. She sat up in her seat to look past Harry at him. “I mean Liam what good does it do to fake our relationship? The whole plan was to get me out of Harry’s house so I can go about my life and he can too! Why are we giving into their wacked up ideas?”

                “It’s simple.” A smile formed on Liam’s lips. “You two act like you’re in love, then _bam_ , break up with each other after a bit. There’s a bit of drama but then… it’s all over. You go back to your life, Harry goes back to his with us. Everyone’s happy.”

                Grace sat there in silence, her eyes wandering over to Zayn’s while in thought. _He has to think this is a stupid idea too, right?_ But the older man just shrugged at her.

                “Well…” Harry spoke up. He twirled some of his hair around his finger and took in a breath before continuing. “Do you _really_ think that’ll work Liam? Her and I faking we like each other?”

                “Well of course. I wouldn’t tell you if I didn’t think it.” Liam played with the ring on his ring finger. “So you both in?” He raised his eyebrows at both Harry and Grace.

                Harry turned back to look at her, his green eyes meeting hers for the first time since he hugged her last night. She could feel the tension in the air again but he quickly said, “You in?”

                She blinked, trying to take all this in. _Faking to date Harry Styles?_ She looked away from him for a moment and back at Liam who was also staring at her. She felt trapped with the two of them staring at her, Zayn mindlessly staring out the window now. But what else could she do?

                Grace met eyes with Harry again, the intense look on his face scaring her a bit. She had seen he could be caring last night and she knew he couldn’t be all bad, heck maybe even not bad at all. He was just another regular guy, despite his millions of dollars and screaming fans. Perhaps he was pushy with her when they first met because he was concerned?

                “I…” she sighed, still trying to process everything. Zayn turned to look at her as if confirming she should go along with Liam’s plan. It was that twinkle in his eye, and the way he mouthed _do it,_ that had her slowly nodding at Harry. “Yeah… I’m in.”

                He stared at her for a moment longer, his expression unreadable as he answered Liam back, “I’m in if she’s in.”

                “Good.” Liam patted Harry’s shoulder before turning to raise his eyebrows at Zayn in a signal. “You guys can talk out all the details, but make it very obvious you two are dating when you go out in public.” He eyed Grace specifically on the last part. “But you guys are adults, you can figure that out.” He then rubbed Harry’s shoulder affectionately before asking Grace, “Can I borrow him for a moment? He and I need to talk about something in private.”

                “By all means.” Grace felt more at ease when the two men stood up, Harry no longer sitting so close to her. They left the room swiftly, leaving both her and Zayn alone.

                “So…” Zayn started as soon as the door clicked shut. He turned to face her, crossing his arms over his firm chest. “What are you to Harry?”

                “What do you mean?” Grace laughed a bit. “If you’re thinking we like each other or something you’re wrong.”

                He mocked her laugh, making his way over to sit on the other side of the sofa. “No sweetheart, I know your whole story with him. The paps, the magazines, you kissing him-”

                “We _didn’t_ kiss.”

                “Alright. Alright.” Zayn furrowed his eyebrows at being cut off. “But anyway… You two have something going on. I felt it as soon as I walked in the door.”

                “Harry and I just live together. Nothing is _going on_ with us.”

                “Sure.” Zayn rubbed at the soft hair on his chin. “You like him. Don’t you?”

                “Zayn! We’ve only known each other for what? 3 weeks? I can’t like him. Besides he’s probably already with some other beautiful rich girl.”

                “That’s what you think?” Zayn chuckled again. He found this entire thing so amusing, didn’t he? “Well… I’ll tell you one thing.” He leaned in closer towards her, his voice barely above a whisper even though they were the only two in the room. “Harry doesn’t let girls get this close to him, _ever_ , unless he feels something for them. He’s a lonely guy, he needs a lot of love and attention, and you… you must be something else.”

                “Why are you telling me this?” Grace glared at him. It wasn’t like she wanted to be with Harry, so what was the big deal?

                Zayn shook his head. “Because… you’re going to be his fake girlfriend.” He sounded a bit sarcastic when he leaned away but Grace couldn’t quite pinpoint it. She wanted to ask more but Zayn had turned away when both Harry and Liam returned from their talk.

                “Alright we’re done here Zayn,” Liam announced.

                “We’ll finish talking more next time. You owe me an explanation after I paid close to a million to save both of your asses from the police,” Zayn whispered to Grace when he got up to leave. He ran his hand down her back, winking at her just as he slipped past Harry.

                “Bye Grace!” Liam waved at her as Zayn walked past. “I’ll text you later! Told Harry to give you my number so we can talk about some things.” He looked pointedly at Harry before closing the door to the place.

                “What’s the matter?” Harry suddenly asked moments after the two men left. He was staring at her with a curious expression as he stood by the mantle by the door. “What were you and Zayn talking about?”

                “Oh nothing…” she quickly said. She was a horrible liar and she knew for sure Harry could see through it because he narrowed his eyes. “But uhm… earlier! You said you had to talk to me about something?” she asked, swiftly changing the conversation before he could press the topic further.

                “Yeah… I did…” Harry crossed his arms over his chest. “It was about _us_ again… but I think the topic on hand right now is more important. You sure about this whole faking thing?”

                “Well… if we can pull it off well enough it’ll work,” Grace tried to convince herself. _Then I can be out of here in no time._

                “Let’s try to get along then.” He sighed to himself before heading off to his room. “I’ll see you around later. You can get Liam’s number out of my phone. The password is my mum’s birthday.”

                Grace stared after him, surprised he was giving her permission to use his phone. And did he seem a bit… uncomfortable? Maybe sad? She shook her head, knowing they’d have plenty to talk about later. Right now she needed to get Liam in her phone and talk to him more about this faking business.


	10. Kiss Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay two updates this week! I felt bad for making you all wait on a chapter a few weeks ago so I decided on two updates this week. If things go as plan, updates may start coming out faster! Also, if you haven't noticed yet chapter 8 has indeed been updated to the real chapter material so go back and read it if you missed it! Happy reading!

                The air of awkwardness seemed to dissipate over the next few days much to both Harry and Grace’s relief. They hadn’t talked much about their plans on faking a relationship, but instead tried to learn more about each other.

                Harry had become a bit more open in telling her things like where he was going when he went out and other personal things in his life. She opened up a bit more to him too, but neither one of them were open books. It seemed as if a bond had formed as they crept closer to a month of knowing one another. They would take turns cooking for one another, sometimes she could convince Harry to take Happy on a walk, and on occasion they would watch old movies together on his TV much like friends would.

                It was safe to say they were getting along better, but they still avoided the relationship topic as much as they could. It didn’t even cross her mind until Liam texted her a few days later.

                **_Hey, I haven’t seen you two in the news for a while?_**

                Grace frowned at her phone as she read the text, ignoring Harry’s look of interest. The two were sitting on the sofa together, Harry on one end with his legs stretched out as usual and Grace on the other with her legs curled under her.

                **_Isn’t that a good thing?_** she texted back; Liam replying again within seconds. Was he bored or something?

                **_Remember we had a bit of talk about you and Harry dating? Yeah…_**

She rolled her eyes at her phone, this time looking up to meet Harry’s eyes. _Why is he still staring at me?_

                “Who’re you texting?” he asked much to her annoyance. He seemed genuinely curious but she couldn’t be bothered with him nosying into her business. Recently he had been that way, trying to look at who she was texting or just flat out asking. It got annoying sometimes.

                “Why are you being nosy?” She put her phone down by her leg on the sofa.

                “Because you were looking irritated. That’s all.” He looked away, curling his feet up before dropping the bomb, “Are you talking to your boyfriend?”

                Grace’s mouth went dry as soon as the words were out of his mouth. The truth was, she didn’t have one at the moment but if she wanted to get Harry off her back she could tell him she did. _But what sense does it make to lie to him about if I’m dating or not? It doesn’t even matter; it’s not like we like each other or will be a couple in the future._

“I don’t have a boyfriend,” she simply said, feeling her phone buzz on her leg. _Liam…_

                “Oh,” was all Harry said, nodding before he turned away to face the TV. Grace thought she saw a look of relief wash over his face but it was gone as soon as it was there.

                “What about you Styles?” she asked, actually curious herself. He was always going out somewhere, and she had begun to wonder if it was with a woman from day one. Of course he had other friends, but the way he was so careful in preparing himself before he left made her think otherwise.

                “It’s _Harry._ And what? Do I have a boyfriend?” He turned to her and laughed a bit, seeming to automatically come back to life from being a bit moody earlier.

                “No… Just nevermind.” She sighed and turned back towards the TV. He was so hard to talk to sometimes with his jokes.

                “No. I don’t have a girlfriend,” he finally said, still staring at her and slightly biting his lip.

                _How can you not have a girlfriend? Look at you!_ She wanted to say so bad but held her tongue. If he didn’t have a girlfriend, he didn’t have one.

                “You don’t believe me, do you?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

                “Well it’s just hard to believe considering who you are…” she stopped herself, knowing she was going into forbidden territory. Harry seemed to be very sensitive whenever she talked about his money or his previous relationships, and she would respect that he didn’t want to talk about it. Whatever was in the past, needed to stay in the past. “I mean… I don’t know I just thought you’d have one. Girls seem to like you.”

                “Yeah but they’re not who I want to date,” he said quietly, almost as if to himself as he turned away. She looked at him but he was looking at nothing in particular, biting his thumb nail. She wanted to ask him if he had a girl in mind but it was none of her business.

                “So… you never told me who you were texting.” He switched the conversation back to the start.

                “It’s just Liam, Harry. Goodness. Do you expect me to be texting Obama?” _Why is he so worried about who I’m talking to anyway?_

                “What’s he want?” There was suspicion in his tone, making Grace wonder just what the heck he and Liam had discussed last time they were over. He had been acting a bit strange since then. He was quieter around the house, almost avoidant until now.

                “It’s about you and me… about us faking being together.”

                “That…” Harry started to play with his hands, specifically going to play with his ring finger. “We haven’t really talked about that since Payno and Zayn left, huh?”

                Grace shook her head, feeling awkward. Her and Harry dating? It was absurd to her still. How was she supposed to act with him? Did he have to kiss her? God no… She didn’t want to kiss him… She glanced over at him while he wasn’t looking, noticing how nice and pink his lips were. They were kissable, but he probably wouldn’t want to kiss her, would he?

                “Nope,” she quickly said when Harry caught her staring.

                He didn’t seem to notice or didn’t care as he just continued talking. “Well, what do you want to do?”

                “We need the paps to bump into us while we’re _dating_ , that seems to be what Liam wants. So I guess we can go out together and look happy?”

                She looked up to find him staring at her with an interesting expression on his face. She couldn’t read it fast enough before he had turned away, biting his lip in thought. _He really is cute…_

                “I suppose. They seem to make up ridiculous stories just seeing us together so that should be enough.” He sounded a bit disappointed but quickly turned upbeat when he turned his body to face her again. “So we can do this… let’s say… the end of this week? I think we should try to make it seem like we’re hiding from them though, so it’s not too obvious, but still.”

                “Works for me.” Grace nodded at him and found herself smiling. _How is this all going to pan out?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! Next chapter you guys are really going to like so if you haven't already, subscribe to be alerted as soon as it's updated! It's something you're NOT going to want to miss! Once again, thanks for reading and thank you for all the comments/kudos so far. Even if I don't answer back I love reading all of them and they're much appreciated.


	11. Night Changes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright this has got to be one of my favorite chapters so enjoy!!! I have a feeling you guys will really, really like it too!! Happy reading!

                Grace couldn’t help but feel nervous when she stepped outside Harry’s door, not quite knowing how today would go.

                It all started early this morning with her cooking Harry breakfast this time. He was grateful, and seemed to rather enjoy it despite the fact she had cooked for him several times before. She announced she would take a shower first and ever since then her nervousness had crept in.

                _“Woah,” Harry said when she emerged from her room fully dressed. He had been staring at his phone, texting someone but as soon as he saw her he couldn’t help but smile. “You look great,” he finally said after he looked her up and down, standing to his feet._

_“Thanks.” She smiled back at him, feeling slightly awkward to be complimented by him. **It’s almost like we’re dating for real…** she thought. “You look good yourself!”_

_He blushed a little, nodding at her. “Thanks.” He was wearing one of his white button ups, not the really fancy kind, but it was in between his casual everyday fashion and something a bit more formal. As usual, he left the first few buttons undone, which Grace didn’t mind at all. Here recently she didn’t mind seeing a bit more of his body and she found his many tattoos to be quite interesting._

_As her eyes traveled down his body she smiled on the inside when she saw he was wearing a pair of his black jeans that fitted his legs and thighs perfectly. He really was a stunner…_

_**Wait Grace stop… We’re just faking to be together… Why am I getting so riled up about going out together with Harry?** She looked back up at his eyes, slightly embarrassed she had been caught checking him out but as usual he didn’t seem to mind. In fact he had been checking her out the whole time she was looking at him._

_“Shall we go?” He gave her a dazzling smile and she swore this was some fairy tale dream she was having. Who knew that they’d go from arguing every single day to this?_

“Hey, you alright?” Harry’s voice cut into her thoughts as he came to stand by her after he finished locking the door. “You look a bit pale.”

                “It’s… nothing.” She shook her head and faked a smile but she knew Harry saw right through it. Despite not getting along too well in the beginning, they could pick up on subtle things about each other, like when someone was acting strange or if something they said to one another hurt the other.

                “It is _something_.” Harry sighed, running his fingers through his hair. “Listen… Don’t worry about anything ok? I’m here, you have me. As long as I’m here I’m not going to let _anything_ happen to you. Ok?”

                She blinked up at him, feeling like this was still a dream. This is what she’d want her crush or boyfriend to say to her; this is something she had always wanted to hear but it was coming from this man instead. Some man she didn’t even belong with…

                “Just trust me.” He gave her a small smile, touching her shoulder gently and briefly. “Do you trust me?” he then asked quickly.

                “I… yeah,” she said without thinking. Harry was an ok guy, so far, no… he was more than ok. He really wasn’t the bad person she thought he was but he was actually really kind and thoughtful. He made her breakfast, sometimes he’d make sure she didn’t need anything from the store before he left and once, when he thought she was asleep, she caught him checking in on her early in the morning before he left to go do some recording on his new album with the other guys.

                “Then let’s go have fun.” For a brief moment, his hand touched hers but he was moving off ahead of her towards the stairs that would take them down to the ground floor, towards where a lot of drama may meet them.

 

* * *

                Grace just didn’t think it would happen, not in a million years did she think she would be doing this with Harry Styles, some guy she would just stare at behind a computer screen and listen to his songs with the other four members of One Direction. Heck, she didn’t even think she’d meet the guy in person even though they lived in the same city for the past year. This was still a dream, right?

                “Hey…” Harry called her quietly from his side of the table, raising his eyebrows at her when he got her attention. “Just… breathe ok?”

                She blinked at him, realizing she must have been staring off into space or something weird. “I’m… sorry,” she said quietly, looking down at the menu in front of her. She just couldn’t believe that she was sitting in some fancy, expensive restaurant with him. It was all too surreal: how white and soft the table cloths were, how rich the people looked that were dining here, how proper the waiter was… just the whole set up was too much for her.

                “Don’t apologize.” He smiled at her from behind his menu. “Just relax. Pretend we’re at home together eating dinner, me and you. Just us.”

                Grace took a deep breath, listening to his advice and looking back down at the menu. Everything was so _expensive_ and half the menu was in what… French? She had no idea what to order or how on earth she’d pay Harry back for all of this.

                _Why did he pick this place anyway?_ She inwardly groaned, looking around again at the place. She wasn’t even really dressed up for the occasion. She just had on a pair of simple but cute jeans and a sheer top with a snarling tiger from Forever 21 she had bought years ago, but now that she looked around, not everyone seemed to be stuffy and rich. There seemed to be a few people that were of course well off, but they didn’t scream _money_.

                “Are you ready?”

                Grace nearly jumped at the voice but kept herself calm when she realized it was just the waiter returning. He looked at both her, then Harry, giving them a gentle smile.

                “Hmmm… babe you ready?”

                She narrowed her eyes at him in that sudden moment when he called her that. _Babe, Harry Styles?_ He looked at her with complete innocence and she just shook her head no, reminding herself they’d have to talk later about this.

                “We can share something. I can recommend you a dish.” He sat up straight, staring into her eyes with the most passion she had ever seen. _What is this acting?!_

“Please,” she said politely, trying to match his acting. _This is so stupid… I swear we don’t need to impress this waiter!_

                “We’ll share the lasagna,” Harry said to the waiter, closing his menu and handing it to him. “Light on the cheese.”

                “Yes sir. We’ll have that out for you soon.” The waiter took both of their menus and was gone in a flash.

                “What was that?” Grace said under her breath as soon as he was gone, glaring at Harry.

                “We’re on a date, remember?” He smiled at her, as if completely amused by her response. He still found it a bit funny to mess around with her, and it annoyed her beyond anything.

                “Yeah I know we are but why do we have to impress the waiter?”

                “Did you forget who I am? _Everyone_ knows me, and the better impression we make that we’re a loving couple, the better.”

                _God please don’t rub it in._ She sighed, slightly shaking her head at him. “You’ve got to be kidding me…” she muttered under her breath.

                “You know… you’re really something else. And I mean that in a good way.” Harry was still smiling at her as he took a sip of his water. “I think we’ll both enjoy this night.”

                “What else do you have planned?” she asked, noticing some people near them had started to stare. _God they must be fans or at least know him… Wait? Are they taking pictures?!_

“It’s a secret.” He laughed, also starting to notice the people trying to slyly take pictures. “I promise you’ll love it though. You won’t regret tonight.”

                “You’re really talking yourself up Harry.” She remembered to say his first name this time and for a brief moment, his eyes seemed to light up.

                “Trust me on this. I got it covered.” He glanced over at the people taking pictures of them, giving them a wave. They started talking to each other in excited whispers and Grace couldn’t help but to smile. Tonight would be interesting…

 

* * *

                After finishing dinner, she and Harry walked around the little neighborhood the restaurant was in realizing a lot of boutiques were set up.

                “Did you like dinner?” Harry asked as they walked slowly side by side down the street. It was a quiet night, minus a couple of fans that wanted to take pictures with him in the restaurant. They had mostly ignored her, much to her relief. She knew just how vicious some of those girls could be and she didn’t want unnecessary drama.

                She nodded. “It was good. You have a good taste in food.”

                “Don’t flatter me,” he laughed a little. “But you know…” he added in a lower tone. “Talking to you like this, and what we did over dinner, it’s been a real pleasure.”

                She found herself blushing, not quite knowing why. He was still staring at her, this smile gently spreading across his face. She couldn’t tell if he was acting or this was real, but it felt like it was real.

                “You’re cute when you’re like this too,” he added at an even lower tone, making her blush harder. _He has to be joking right now…_

                “Harry stop fooling around,” she kept her head down to hide her blushing, tucking a stray piece of hair behind her ear.

                “I’m not fooling around though.” He gave her a look of disbelief. “I think we should be more like this to each other.”

                _Did he have too much wine at the restaurant?_ Grace felt like exploding from embarrassment with the way he was carrying on. Yeah, she knew they had been getting along better but this? He was borderline flirting with her.

                She opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by a girl’s voice from nowhere. “Harry? Harry Styles?”

                “That’s me.” Harry looked away from Grace and towards the girl standing further up the sidewalk. He seemed a bit annoyed but that expression was completely replaced by a smile. He sure did know how to keep the fans happy…

                “Oh wow… Oh God…” she silently started to flip out and Harry just kept smiling at her but it wasn’t the same smile he was giving Grace just a few seconds ago and she was quick to pick up on that. His smile now was a polite smile, almost as if he was forcing it.

                “Can I please have a picture with you?” she asked, walking closer.

                “Yeah of course!” Harry let her stand by him as she took out her phone to take a picture with him. Grace swore she had flashbacks at that moment of her and Harry taking a simple celebrity and fan picture like that together. She saw how happy the girl was, remembering how happy she was to bump into Harry randomly on the street. She watched how she hugged him after they finished taking the picture and he hugged her back gently, telling her to take care of herself and enjoy their upcoming album. She could almost feel herself going back to one month ago when her life completely changed because of one picture.

                “Grace?” Harry called her name gently, staring at her in concern.

                “Oh I’m so sorry!” the girl suddenly said, looking at her then Harry. “Were you on a… date?”

                “Yeah.” Harry smiled at her then at Grace before turning back to the girl. “It’s no problem though!”

                “So it is true…” the girl looked away from Harry and then at Grace, her facial expression falling a bit. She partially rolled her eyes at Grace before telling Harry thanks and running off down the street.

                “Hey, you ok?” Harry asked, completely ignoring the girl’s change in attitude. He walked over to Grace, pushing the same stray strands of hair that kept falling into her face out of it.

                “Yeah I’m fine…” she said, wanting to push him away but she knew she couldn’t. She knew she couldn’t because they were _dating_ and she couldn’t bring herself to push him away when he looked so concerned about her.

                “Don’t let it get to you,” he said gently, nearly leaning down to her level to look her in the eyes. “Just know I’m always here to protect you.”

                She looked up at him, feeling completely vulnerable for a moment. She wanted to say he was just acting, but she knew at that moment he wasn’t. He _was_ really worried about her despite everything she put him through in the beginning. He wasn’t this bad person at all…

                “Do you want to head back?” He looked even more concerned now that she wasn’t speaking.

                “No it’s fine!” She looked away from him. “I kinda want to see all the little shops they have so maybe we can come back next time?”

                Harry stared at her for a moment, as if not fully convinced. “Alright then. Then we can head back,” he simply said, stepping away from her so they could continue down the street. Every so often their hands would brush against one another as they looked in shop windows, and for some reason, Grace wanted to hold his large, strong hand that night. She wanted to hold his hand and feel maybe a bit safer. She wanted to intertwine her fingers with his, feel just how warm and soft his hand was, to run her thumb over his cross tattoo…

                “It’s really nice out here,” Harry commented as they turned around the block and approached his Mercedes they had rode in here. “Is there anything else you want to do?” He asked, looking down at her.

                She shook her head. “Tonight was really fun though, but I’m tired.”

                “Yeah…” He gave her another small smile. “Grace…”

                “Yeah?” She looked up at him as they stopped by his car.

                He stared at her for a moment, his eyes completely locked onto hers. Then in a brief moment he seemed to change his mind, shaking his head. “Not yet…” he seemed to mutter to himself before getting her car door but his words were lost in the wind.

                _What’s that about?_ She thought to herself as she got in the car, scrunching up her eyebrows a bit. _What can he not do yet?_

 

* * *

                The ride home was quiet, minus Harry’s music playing softly in the background. Harry seemed to be preoccupied with his own thoughts and Grace with hers until a familiar song started playing quietly on the radio.

                “Isn’t this yours…?” Grace asked, turning the volume up.

                “Sure is.” A smile crept on Harry’s face as he stopped the car at the red light. After a bit of instrumental he started humming along to Zayn’s voice without a care in the world. Just as Liam’s part came on the light turned green and he tapped the gas.

                “We’re only getting older baby… and I’ve been thinking about it lately… does it ever drive you crazy, just how fast the night changes?” he muttered to himself, turning his car down the familiar street he lived on.

                Grace smiled to herself, listening to Harry sing along to his own song written with the other guys. She could tell, and she knew for a fact, Harry loved his job by the way she saw him act in fanvideos of them live. She could even tell now, as he drummed his index finger against the steering wheel, shaking his head to the next verse with Louis and then Niall singing. He was clearly enjoying himself as they pulled into his driveway, and Grace loved to see him this way.

                “Me and you...” Harry droned on, letting Liam take care of the high note on the radio.

                “Going out tonight, changes into something red, her mother doesn’t like that kind of dress, reminds her of the missing piece of innocence she lost,” Grace joined him, making him look over at her in surprise.

                “We’re only getting older baby…” Harry continued with her on the chorus, smiling at her and then laughing as time went on.

                “It will never change baby… It will never change… me and you…” Harry sung with himself on the radio while looking at Grace, this big smile on his face. They then both started to laugh when the song ended, the radio seeming to go silent in that time.

                When the laughter ended neither of them said anything, they just kept eye contact in the silence of his car. In that moment Grace didn’t even see it coming, she didn’t even feel it coming until it was right there.

                His lips against hers, completely soft and warm despite the coolness of his car. It was only for a brief moment, but it was enough to leave her breathless. It would be a lie if she said she didn’t want more of him, but by the time he pulled away it was too late.

                In the hush that followed they kept eye contact for a while until it registered in Grace’s mind of what had just happened. _Did he just kiss me!?_

                Harry seemed to realize it too, turning away from her fast and blushing a bit. He looked guilty as he said, “Uhm… well let’s get you back inside…” He quickly killed the engine, opening his car door to escape the awkwardness in his car.

                “Did he just kiss me?” Grace muttered to herself when he came to get her door. He wouldn’t look at her when she got out, keeping his eyes instead on the sidewalk.

_Isn’t Harry supposed to be the smooth talker and easily gets women?_ She thought to herself as he walked with her up the stairs to his side of the building. _Why is he suddenly seeming so flustered now?_

                “Thanks for tonight…” she quietly said once they both got inside. She hated the awkward silence they had fallen into.

                “I’m… glad you enjoyed it.” He locked the door behind them and gave her a smile. _Was he embarrassed he kissed me?_

                She nodded at him and headed off to her room, feeling like she was on fire. “I’ll see you in the morning Harry!”

                “Yeah… See you!” He called back, his voice slightly shaking on the end.

                She entered her room, pleased to find Happy lying on the floor at the foot of the bed, his tail wagging slowly. She closed the door behind her, feeling like she was going to melt as she thought about everything that had just happened.

_Harry Styles kissed me… and I liked it?_


	12. Caught in the Act

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the last update of the week! If you liked Wednesday's update you'll really like this one too! Happy reading!

                Grace could still feel the way Harry’s lips felt on hers those nights ago in his car days later. She had tried to tell herself over and over again that she didn’t care. She tried telling herself that Harry had really screwed up kissing her but in all reality that kiss was all she could think about whether he was in her presence or not.

                She wasn’t the only one acting strange around the house though. She noticed a bit of a change in Harry too, how he would sometimes avoid eye contact with her. He seemed a bit tense but as time went on he slowly went back to his old self.

                “Hey Grace!” he called excitedly from the living room that evening. “Come have a look at this!”

                She came out of her room quickly, halfway tripping over Happy in her pajamas. Tonight she was more careful, picking out some shorts that were slightly longer than the normal ones she wore at home and a simple t shirt. She would never forget how Harry had looked at her when she stepped out of the shower with a tank top and a pair of. “What is it?” she asked, wondering just what had Harry so excited.

                He patted the spot next to him on the sofa with his large hand, signaling her to sit by him. When she sat down by him a little closer than usual he hit play on the TV and a news report on ET started up with his name flashing in big gold letters on the screen.

                “Big news today guys!” the female announcer said, smiling from ear to ear after the dramatic intro music ended. “Remember our little story last month about Harry Styles having a new girlfriend? Well… some of you might be disappointed to hear the bachelor is now indeed taken! Take a look at this exclusive footage of him and his new girlfriend caught on tape.”

                Grace bit the inside of her cheek as a video of her and Harry leaving the restaurant from a few nights ago played on the screen. She had admit, they did indeed look like a couple as he smiled down at her while they walked down the street, her completely blushing like an idiot in the blurry video.

                The video ended when they turned the corner to head to his car, but more pictures of them started popping up from that night on the screen as the female announcer’s voice came back on. The girls that had been sitting near them in the restaurant must have snagged them, but luckily for her they were mostly focused on Harry’s face.

                _He’s a good actor…_ she thought to herself while looking at the picture. He was smiling sweetly at her, his eyes seeming to sparkle in the dim light of the restaurant. He looked completely happy with her, a faint line of blush on his cheeks on one picture. _This is still so unreal…_

                “It seems like Harry and his new girl enjoyed a romantic dinner and then a drive back to his place. Wonder what kind of steamy night they had?” she finished the story, smiling at the man sitting next to her.

                Harry cleared his throat suddenly, cutting off the woman on TV with his voice. “We did good.” He turned to smile at her, ignoring the people on TV talking about how he possibly banged her that night and what it felt like to be kissed by Harry Styles.

                “Yeah.” She smiled at him a bit. _We overdid ourselves a bit…_ “We just have to keep this up, huh?”

                He nodded, turning the TV down when they started to get a bit out of hand about his love life and bedroom. “I’ve been having a fun time doing it though. I mean, none of this is hard.”

                “You don’t mind _them_?” she asked, nodding at the TV. The man on there was clapping loudly and laughing, completely in his zone with their story.

                “Comes with being a celebrity babe.” He shrugged his shoulders, scratching behind his ear. “They’re a bit wacko sometimes but eh, they pay the bills.”

                “ _Babe_ …” she repeated after him, remembering the first time he had called her that in the restaurant. She hadn’t liked it at first, but the way he said it so naturally made her feel like she could get used to it.

                “Sorry…” he apologized, shaking his head. “Got a bit out of character there.” He laughed to himself weakly.

                _Speaking of out of character… what about our kiss?_ She wanted to ask so badly but she wasn’t sure if that was something Harry was open on talking about. Neither one of them had brought _it_ up but she did catch him staring at her lips sometimes, heck she’d sometimes look at his as well. It had been such a quick kiss, making Grace wonder what he was actually like when he really got into it…

                _Stop it you don’t need to think of him that way… We’re just pretending to date anyway._ She let out a sigh.

                “You ok?” he suddenly asked, making her realize she must have been staring at him for a long time.

                “Oh… yeah… I was just thinking about this whole thing…” she trailed off until her phone began to buzz on the table. Harry’s eyes darted towards it first before he raised his eyebrows at her. She was hoping he wouldn’t nag her about who it was, but that was almost a given. She quickly picked the phone up, noticing it was from an unknown number but the message content made her already know who it was.

                **_Nice going there Grace! See you and Harry landed yourself in nearly every media magazine and show, and according to them you did a bit of bump and grind?_**

                Grace felt herself blush, trying to ignore Harry’s eyes on her once again.

                **_Zayn?_**

**_Yeah of course! Who else would it be? You two are really cute together… Honestly. Anyway, tell Harry to text me back!_ **

Grace let out a breath of irritation and embarrassment. Her and Harry looking good together? His million dollar self walking down the street with her average self? No way! Besides, it was all acting. She didn’t like Harry that way and he didn’t like her that way either.

                “You’re always so comical when you read messages,” Harry commented randomly, standing up to lean over her to look at her phone screen. “What’s going on now?”

                “Harry get out of my personal business!” She pushed his chest but he was stronger, easily pushing her back on the sofa and taking her phone from her.

                “You two are really cute together…” he read out loud and snorted, making a funny face. “Who’s sending you this?”

                “Zayn! Don’t you know your own band mate’s number?” She got up from the sofa, trying to get her phone back from him.

                “We change numbers so much I can barely keep up.” He laughed at her as he kept turning away from her. He started to text Zayn back on her phone with one hand while holding her back with the other and she felt like dying. _What was he doing?_

                “Harry please…” she whined, trying to come around to his front but he turned right back around again. “You’re such a tease.”

                “Am I now?” He turned to face her, still holding her phone up as he raised an eyebrow at her. “Didn’t know you thought of me that way.”

                She started blushing again. Why did he have to be this way? “Not _that_ way Styles.”

                “It’s _Harry_ ,” he corrected her for the millionth time. “Honestly, we’ve been living together for a month now, and you still call me by my last name. Do you want my last name or something?” He gave her this quirky smile that was enough to irritate her for the rest of her life.

                “That belongs to whoever you decide to fall in love with, not me.” She rolled her eyes at him, still trying to get her phone back. In a way, she felt kind of weird saying it. It was weird to think how one day, she and Harry wouldn’t be living together anymore. They’d no longer text each other, they’d no longer talk to each other, and he’d go on with his rich, fabulous celebrity life and she’d go back to trying to find another job and find a normal boyfriend. It was a bit… saddening… but she didn’t belong in Harry’s life. Not when he had all of these beautiful and equally as rich women as him.

                “What if that someone is you?” He stopped suddenly, seeming to turn dead serious.

                “Stop joking Harry. It’s not like you and I are going to end up doing _anything_.” She grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him closer so she could finally get her phone back. In the quick moment of time he looked down at her, his green eyes completely pulling her in like they had a few nights ago when they had kissed. They stood there for a while, looking into each other’s eyes until the familiar barking of Happy filled the room. Harry stepped back to get the large dog off of his leg but in that moment Happy wiggled right past him, knocking him off balance. Since Grace was still attached to the front of his shirt, she went down with him, landing with a thud on his chest.

                “Stupid dog…” Harry muttered under his breath, rubbing the back of his head with one hand, holding Grace’s shoulder with the other.

                She opened her eyes slowly, groaning from the pain she felt in her knee from hitting it on the hard wood floor. She stopped moving all together when she found her face mere inches from his. If that wasn’t bad enough, she was completely on top of him, her hands still on his now exposed chest, legs around his waist.

                _This has to be the worst…_ She found that she couldn’t even breathe when Harry realized what situation they were in as well. After the initial moment of shock, his green eyes went from her brown ones down to her lips, sending a cold chill down her spine. _Why can’t I move?_ She took a shallow breath, feeling his heart beat against her breast.

                “Harry…” she whispered his name, preparing herself to ask him about if the kiss he had given her those few nights ago was real, but she was cut off by the sound of his door opening and a male voice.

                “Woah… didn’t know you two were getting frisky.”

                She sat up fast on Harry to find Liam standing in the doorway to Harry’s place, a smirk plastered all over his face. She had to be feeling the most embarrassed she ever had in her life as she scrambled off of him, realizing Liam must have gotten a full view of her ass with the way she was on him. Despite that being bad, it looked like she and Harry were about to go at it right in his living room floor. _How embarrassing…_

                “How did you get in?” Harry asked, trying to change the conversation as he quickly picked himself off the floor too. He dusted off his pajama bottoms, neglecting to button his shirt back up.

                “Well you left the door unlocked. Imagine if I was some batshit crazy fan.” Grace thought Liam was about to go into a round of scolding but instead he bust out into a wide grin. “Anyway, walking in on this was priceless. Did you two really…. The other night?” He raised his eyebrows at the pause, his eyes going from Grace then to Harry.

                “No… nothing like that happened,” Harry said calmly, glancing over at her briefly. He looked away as soon as their eyes met, making her wonder what was just going through his head.

                “So why are you here?” Grace asked, picking up her forgotten phone from the floor and going to go sit on the sofa.

                “Well one, I heard you two up here and decided to check in in case you were killing each other. Secondly, I wanted to congratulate you both on a successful first date.”

                “God Payno can you be any lamer?” Harry rolled his eyes, leaning on the back of the sofa by Grace.

                _Why is he so close to me all of a sudden?_ She eyed him but he ignored her.

                “It’s called _thank you._ ” Liam leaned on the entranceway wall. “But that’s all really, keep up the good work. I’m proud of you both.”

                “You sound like someone’s proud parent,” Grace muttered, checking her phone when a new message came in from Zayn. Unfortunately she saw Harry had sent him something in return about them being together.

**_If you two don’t want to be cute together then what on earth would you two be ha? Anyway, we still need to finish our talk from last time. Remember, you owe me big time after I paid both you and Harold’s speeding ticket and to get your asses out of jail._**

“That I might be,” Liam said over Harry’s loud laughing. “But also Harold… we’ve got an interview tomorrow. Just letting you know since you’ve been ignoring everyone’s texts since your date.”

                “I haven’t been ignoring.” Harry ran his fingers through his hair. “Just taking a breather. And yeah, I’ll be there. I know.”

                “Because the other night was that good?” Liam started laughing again when both Harry and Grace glared at him. “Just joking… but that’s all I wanted from you guys. Have a good night and remember to lock your doors!” The older man left, waving at them both as he shut the door behind him.

                “What a pain in the ass,” Harry moaned before he pushed himself off the back of the sofa. He glanced at Grace, looking as if he wanted to say something but changed his mind.

                “Hey… uhm… Harry can I ask you something?” she asked, her curiosity getting the best of her.

                “Yeah. What is it?” He pushed his hands into his pockets, looking like he was modeling for some expensive men’s nightwear. _Was he just born looking like a famous person?_

“It’s… about the other night.” She felt like she was stepping into forbidden territory with the way Harry looked at her.

                “What about it?”

                She shook her head, feeling like this was useless to talk to him about this. _What do I want him to say anyway? That he likes me and we can become a thing?_ Honestly, she didn’t know what she wanted from Harry. After their phase of trying to kill each other, she saw the softer side of him and she liked it, quite a bit actually.

                “It was just acting,” he said smoothly, scratching behind his ear. “In case someone snapped a picture of us coming back home, then they could get one of us kissing.”

                She felt her stomach flip, not quite knowing why she didn’t like his answer. _It’s not like I like him anyway…_ “Just making sure you hadn’t lost your head there Styles,” she said weakly, staring back down at Zayn’s message to hide her face.

                He laughed a little. “It’s not like you and I are going to end up doing _anything_ ,” he used her own words against her and it stung a bit. “This is all just an act.”

                “Well don’t get too used to kissing on me. I didn’t like it anyway.”

                “Whatever you say Grace.” She looked up at him when he said her name, and for the briefest moment she thought he looked a bit sad but he covered it up with a sleepy smile. “But you heard Payno, I got an interview tomorrow so I gotta get some rest.”

                “Alright…” she rested her chin on the back of his sofa. “See you in the morning.”

                “Yeah… see you. Don’t stay up too late either.” He gave her a half smile again before trudging off to his room. She noticed his shirt had risen up along his hip, giving her a view of the top part of his ass. _Why doesn’t he pull that down!? Or is that on purpose…_

_It doesn’t matter_. She sighed to herself once she heard the door creak close to his room. For some reason, she felt sad at that moment, but she didn’t know why. She noticed Happy sitting by the edge of the sofa, wagging his tail at her. She reached down, stroking his greying with age muzzle, feeling slightly better. Hopefully in the morning she’d feel better after she got some rest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update things will switch up a bit but I promise you'll like it! I won't spoil anything, but it'll be a really fun read. As always, thanks for reading, thanks for the comments/kudos! It's been a pleasure writing this and you all make it all the better. Thank you.


	13. Feelings (Harry POV)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So as you can see this is a bit different then what has been happening so far ha. I always like switching between characters but in this story it is quite limited compared to my others. So here's one of the only times we'll get to see things from Harry's eyes (and a bit from the other lads as well) in an entire chapter! Happy reading!

                Truth be told, Harry was as interested in this interview as a dog was to get a bath but he had to do it if he wanted to make a good impression and sell the new album he and his friends had worked so hard on.

                “You look sleepy there lot,” Liam's voice cut into his thoughts suddenly. He, Liam and Niall were making their way down to the interview room down the narrow hallway of the building.

                “Wouldn't you be tired too Liam if you had a banging hot girlfriend?” Niall winked at Liam and Harry could have died. _What were these two up to?_

_We aren't dating,_ he wanted to say but stopped himself. Niall and Liam would just laugh at him and he really wasn’t in the mood for it. In all honesty, he just couldn't see himself dating Grace. Not because she wasn't good enough, but he just didn't feel like she’d ever like him in that way. Why? He had no idea. He had the looks, he had the money and even though that was nothing to base a relationship off of, he was plenty of nice to her. She just didn’t like him in that way for whatever her reasons were. He would think a fan would be elated to be staying with him, but not her.

                “You up for it mate?” Louis’ voice suddenly rang in his ears as his hand landed on Niall's shoulder. Both he and Zayn had come out of the adjacent dressing room, smelling like their usual cologne and the faintest hint of beer. Harry was hoping they weren’t hung over from the previous night, but there wasn’t much he could do about that. His band mates loved to drink, he just hoped they wouldn’t make fools of themselves.

                “Up for it mate,” Niall laughed as the five walked into the interview room, greeted by the usual bright lights and greetings from the staff.

_Here we go_ , Harry thought as he took his seat between Liam and Zayn, oddly wishing he were back at home with Grace. Usually when he went out without her, he didn’t think about her much, but today would be a bit different as his mind kept flashing back to that one kiss.

 

* * *

                The interview went smoothly just like always. Harry made a few jokes, made the interviewer laugh but he did tone down the flirting even though he thought she was very cute.

_Not as cute as Grace though_ , he thought, suddenly frowning. Yeah, Grace was cute, but it wasn't like they were dating or would ever date in the future for that matter. Why was he suddenly holding back and feeling guilty for flirting with other women?

                “Yeah Harry here's got himself quite the girl,” Liam answered for him when he missed the interviewer asking him about the hottest topic swirling around his name. He turned to glare at the older man but Liam just continued. “They’re quite cute together, if I don't say so myself. Never seen Harry so happy.”

                “How long have you two been dating?” the interviewer asked, looking straight at him. She seemed to be just curious, not the jealous, envious type, but Harry still didn’t trust it. Even though he and Grace weren’t dating for real, he wanted and needed to protect her. “There’s this whole thing where everyone is talking about you kept her a secret for so long and they want to know what she means to you.”

                “Long enough to have deep meaningful conversations,” Harry laughed quietly, only dipping his toes in the question slightly. He felt weird, almost like he was presenting the world with something very special. So special he had to hold back secrets. With his previous real girlfriends, he never did really mind talking about them, as long as it wasn’t too personal. “You gotta keep the ones you love safe you know...”

                “Harold you never told me you had a girlfriend,” Louis interrupted, turning to face him from his seat in front of him.

                “I'll have to introduce you two,” he said while the interviewer laughed yet again but in reality, he didn't want to introduce them. Even though Louis had Eleanor, he remembered Grace saying she thought Louis was attractive, more so than even him. He thought it was a joke, but he could never be quite sure. One thing was certain though, the last thing he wanted was for Grace to fall for Louis' charm. He suddenly shook his head, trying to bring himself back out of his thoughts. What did all of this matter? She could like whoever she wanted to like.

                “Well thanks for today guys!” The interviewer smiled fondly at them before turning to the camera to end the session. “Their new album comes out in a few months so be on the lookout for it! It’ll be hitting stores before Christmas!”

                Harry waved at the camera until the red light turned off, signaling they were off air. He got up to leave first, brushing past Zayn and trying to sort out his own thoughts on Grace. Why was he suddenly feeling this way about her? But above that, she was OK with him being gone all day, right?

               “Harold you're looking scary.”

                He turned to find Louis walking right behind him down the hallway back to their individual trucks they had ridden here in. Slightly embarrassed at being caught like this, Harry sighed. “Sorry I just haven't been sleeping well these past few days.” It was true, he hadn’t. Too much had been on his mind.

               “Well go home and get you some rest, for Christ’s sake. It is our vacation anyway, what’s got you so worked up?” Before Harry could answer he continued, “But before that you need to tell me about this girlfriend you have.” He slung his arm over Harry's shoulder in a friendly manner, bringing the taller man closer to him. He lowered his voice to whisper. “What's she like? I'm guessing a real stunner; you pick nothing but the best, minus that _one_.”

                “She's very pretty,” Harry said quietly as they continued to walk side by side. It was true, Grace was pretty when she wasn't kicking him in the balls or yelling at him but he kind of liked her aggressive side. It balanced out his mellowness and kept him on his toes. It was only bad when she unintentionally hurt his feelings.

                “Why are you so shy about this one?” Louis began to laugh softly. “What? You two haven't had sex yet have you?”

                “No! No... ” Harry tried to relax his tone but he couldn't help but to be flustered anyway. He didn't think about those kinds of things with Grace, minus kissing her those nights ago. Well… once he did think about what she would look like naked that night when he stopped her from coming out of the shower. How she’d look like underneath him on his bed, the faces she’d make when he expertly pleased her with his fingers and tongue, how she’d pull his hair and finally what she’d scream as he fucked her into the mattress… He ran his fingers through his hair, letting out a sigh. _Yeah this is not happening… I’m not getting turned on by this right now._

                “She’s got to be something else if you’re acting like this. You _never_ act this way when it comes to women. You’re all confidence.” Louis was grinning from ear to ear at him. “Why’d you hide her from me mate?”

                “I never hid her from you. We’ve been all over the news.”

                “That shit? You know Harry, they always pair you off with whatever girl you’re within a hundred foot radius of so I didn’t believe any of it when I did come across it. Then again… we haven’t talked in quite a bit.”

                Harry nodded. He and Louis had kind of… drifted over the years? It wasn’t like they hated each other, it was just a slight growing apart. He missed how close they used to be when they were younger but there was nothing he could do about it. He had to simply make amends by weaseling his way into Liam and Niall’s close friendship. It didn’t hurt, but he still missed Louis.

                “Well, set up a date for us. I want to meet this girl. Maybe it can be a double date? Me and Eleanor? You and your girl.” He patted Harry on the shoulder as they walked out of the building and into the evening air. “Or I can just come over. Just text me!” Then he was gone, sprinting over to one of the black trucks parked furthest away.

                Then it hit him as soon as Louis closed the door to the truck and it began to speed away. _Why didn’t I tell him Grace and I are faking? Now he thinks we’re real…_ he sighed, heading towards his own truck that would take him home. He’d fix everything later, just right now he wanted to see Grace and that annoying mongrel of hers.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys all enjoyed this! Yes, things will go back to normal after this, this is a one time thing ha. As always, thanks for reading, thanks for the comments/kudos/subs/etc. I really appreciate everything! Have an amazing rest of the week!


	14. Trust Me

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update of the week yay! Happy reading!

                Grace had watched the interview live that evening since Harry had texted her earlier in the day with details on what channel and what time it would be on, so she figured he must have wanted her to watch it. He had left early in the morning to have a breakfast with the other guys, basically having a boys' day out, leaving her a message on the refrigerator.

                _Hey Grace, Harry here! Don’t worry about breakfast or anything, I already made it for you. It’s in the oven. I’m going to be gone all day so don’t expect me back any time soon… Catch up with you later_

_-H. x_

_PS.- Don’t leave this house alone unless it’s to walk the dog. I don’t want anything happening to you while I’m away._

                It was a cute little note, Grace had to admit it, but he always took up that worried tone when it came to her. She wasn’t sure whether she liked it or not, but it was nice to know at least one person seemed to care about her. Since her little mix up with him, she hadn’t heard anything from the people at the office. Yes, she had changed her phone number, courtesy of Liam, but before it was changed they never bothered to contact her. Of course her parents did call her every once in a while to check in, but they hadn’t since the news of her and Harry came out as a _couple_. She could just imagine what her mom would say…

                Right now, she had more pressing matters on her mind, and that involved the interview that had went off about an hour ago. She had kept a pillow pressed to her chest and stomach with her knees up to her chest the whole time, just waiting for them to drop the bomb on her and Harry dating. For the first ten minutes, they only talked about the album and promotional information but it seemed as soon as that ten minute mark was over, the interviewer tried to worm her way into Harry’s private life.

                It was Liam’s fault mostly. Harry had a sort of glazed over look on his face when she asked the question for whatever reason. Zayn was smirking, and both Louis and Niall appeared to be absolutely clueless as Liam kept going on about how happy Harry was with her. Even though the bit was short about him dating, she did wonder why he said the bit about keeping loved ones safe…

                _He is right; it’s absolutely true he has to be careful with how he goes about dating people but then again he is always constantly worried about me when he isn’t around. That doesn’t mean anything, does it?_

                Suddenly she heard Happy barking at the front door, snapping her from her thoughts. She turned to find Harry coming into the door, looking worn out from his long day.

                “Yeah, you’ve seen me before.” Harry nudged Happy away with his foot. He closed the door behind him, immediately looking over at Grace. “Hey.”

                “Hey,” she responded quietly, still clutching the pillow. “How was your day?”

                “It was fine.” He kicked his shoes off, still trying to avoid Happy trying to sneak in licks on his hands. “How was yours? You weren’t too bored while I was away?”

                _This really sounds like we’re a couple…_ “Happy and I had our own fun.” She patted the dog’s head when he came over to wag his tail at her. He barked once before returning to meddle with Harry. “I watched your interview.”

                “Huh… really…” Harry sat down next to her on the sofa, closer than usual. He let out a long breath as if exhausted before turning to look at her. “You like it?”

                She shrugged. “It’s just an interview. You guys did fine. You always do fine.”

                He nodded, looking away from her to stare out of his balcony door at the fading sunset. “Didn’t think they’d ask me about _us_ ,” he said quietly after a moment of silence. “Well… I knew it was coming since it’s a really hot topic now but they usually leave that stuff out unless they’re extremely nosy… or trying to hit on me.”

                “You answered well though.” She raised an eyebrow at him. Why was he acting so weird about one little question about their fake romance? To begin with, he was the one that said it was easy to fake this.

                “Thanks… it’s just…” he paused then shook his head, sighing. “It’s nothing. Never mind I said anything.” He suddenly got up, disturbing Happy once again. “Sorry… I’m going to go take a shower and get to bed. I’m really tired. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

                Grace watched him walk away, wondering what had happened during the day that would make him act so strange. Was his day really as fine as he said it was? Or what was on his mind that was eating at him?

                _Whatever…_ she sighed. Harry wasn’t her problem but at the same time she couldn’t help but wonder if he was ok. _Would he really be alright?_

            

* * *

                Later that night Grace found herself unable to sleep no matter how hard she tried. All she could think about was if Harry was ok or not. It was stupid, she knew it, but it was so unusual for him to behave this way so she couldn’t help but worry.

                _I want to ask him so bad but he won’t talk to me…_ she thought, sighing to herself. Grabbing her phone from the bedside table, she decided to text Zayn. She didn’t fully trust Liam on this one, since he seemed to be a bit too invested in their relationship. Besides, Liam was always out late partying either solo or with his girlfriend so she knew the odds of him getting back to her any time soon were slim.

                **_Hey Malik, had a question: Was Harry doing ok during the interview?_**

She knew it was late at night but she also knew the odds of Zayn being awake was high. She had no idea where the singer lived, but he seemed to always be there for her when she sent him something. Moments later when she felt herself drifting off his reply came in.

                **_Wait what’s wrong?_**

                She sighed, scratching her head. She didn’t want this to turn into a long drawn out conversation, she just wanted to know what Harry’s deal was.

                **_Well he’s not himself. I just wanted to know if something happened today._**

**_Well he and Louis were talking after the interview, I didn’t really talk to him much today. Here, maybe you can text Louis?_ **

Grace felt her heart start to beat faster when Zayn just carelessly gave her Louis’ number. She didn’t even know the guy yet! Harry had never introduced her, he never came over, and it would be so awkward for her to randomly text him, let alone for this reason. Besides, he was somewhat her crush when she was younger. She didn’t have those feelings for him anymore, but it was still weird.

                **_Zayn you do realize Louis and I have never talked before?_**

**_Oops ;P My bad. Well what do you want me to do, ask him? If anything though, you should ask your man what’s going on in his life._ **

**_He’s not my man! No it’s fine…_ **

**_You’re really worried about Harry… aren’t you?_ **

She flinched at Zayn’s text when he hit the nail right on the head. She could almost hear him laughing through the phone when he sent the next text.

**_All I can say is to ask him yourself. Harry’s a sensitive guy and weird stuff really gets to him… I bet he’d be happy to have someone to talk to about his feelings._**

**_Thing is Zayn, he won’t open up to me._ **

**_Make him open up. Show him you can be trusted. Show him you’ll be there for him like he’s always been there for you._ **

She stared at the text, realizing how Harry had always been there for her. When she stormed out of his place and the paps started harassing her he was there. The very first time they met each other in secret and he went out of his way to protect her, when the police were roughhousing them… All of it. He had always shown himself as reliable while she acted like she couldn’t stand his existence the majority of the time… Their relationship had improved but she could treat him better after all he had done for her.

                **_I’ll let you marinate on that. Night Mrs. Styles. x._** Zayn sent one last final text to her that night and even though she knew he was gone to bed she still sent him a thank you, not bothering to deny the Mrs. Styles part.

                _I’ve got to make it up to him tomorrow,_ she thought, snuggling into her pillow and leaving her phone at her side. With that in mind, she fell smoothly asleep, dreaming about her plans for tomorrow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah I know this chapter was a bit short but the next one is quite long, so get ready to fasten your seatbelts! I'll let you in on a little secret as well... as long as things go to plan I might have a little surprise for you guys next week :). But just know, even if next week doesn't work out for some odd reason you still WILL get the surprise ha. It'll just be slightly delayed.  
> Thanks for reading guys and sticking with this story! Means a lot!! It's been massively fun writing all of this and I'm so glad so many of you enjoy it!


	15. Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's one of the surprises for this week! Triple uploads for this week, with this one starting it off!! I have a bit more time on my hands with the semester winding down and I need to get this thing cranked out faster ha. This is a super long (and cute) chapter, but nevertheless, enjoy and thanks for reading!

                “How was your night?”

                Harry stumbled into the kitchen in the later half of the morning, rubbing at his eyes. Grace could see his bird tattoo peeking from underneath his pajama top, making her remember the time Happy had tripped him up and she had ended up on his chest.

                “It was ok. Wish I could’ve slept more.” He pulled the chair out at the kitchen table to sit down across from her, his eyes sleepy.

                “Why don’t you go lay back down then?”

                “I wanted to see you,” he straight out said, making the hair on her neck stand up on end until he started laughing. “Your reactions to me are so priceless,” he laughed, looking away towards where Happy was happily munching on his dog food at the area where the kitchen met the living room. “Are you that opposed to being a thing with me?”

                “What are these questions so early in the morning?” she avoided the question. She wasn’t _opposed_ to being with him, she had known him long enough to know he was nothing like the media portrayed him, but then again she wasn’t raring to date him seriously either. There was still so much she needed to learn about him and… wait. _I am not just thinking about seriously dating Harry…_

“I was just saying.” He seemed slightly offended as he lowered his head, drumming the table with his long fingers.

 _Yeah something happened yesterday between him and the guys,_ she thought to herself. She still wasn’t sure what it was, she wasn’t even sure Harry would tell her, but she needed to get him back to normal. “Harry?”

                “Hmm?” He raised his face up to look at her, his green eyes catching the morning rays of sun. She hadn’t realized how pretty they were, how there were flecks of gold and blue around the pupil, how they complemented his tanning skin from the summer sun and long, flowing, curly brown hair. He really was quite a man…

                She quickly corrected herself before she started to flat out gawk at him. Even though she knew he had already caught her, his facial expression did not change as she just started to talk, “I was thinking… would you want to go out today?”

                He raised an eyebrow at her. “As in… like another date?”

                She shrugged. “Whatever you want it to be. I just happened to think maybe we could go to one of your favorite stores and have a look around? It’s been a little while since we’ve both went out together.”

                A small smile appeared on his pink lips, signaling he was interested in the idea. “I like your idea. Let me get changed. Meet you back here when you’re ready.”

                She had to stop herself from letting out a sigh of relief when Harry got up to leave the table. Everything was going as planned...

 

 

* * *

                Grace didn’t feel as nervous leaving the house with Harry this time, but the anxiety was still there no matter how hard she tried to fight it. She kept thinking about how not too long ago the paparazzi viciously chased her down. Going on a date was supposed to be fun and relaxing, not stressful, but then again she couldn’t forget who she was going out with. It was nearly impossible to have a normal date with him. Fans would stop them, people would take pictures without them knowing… it was still crazy to her. _How did his past girlfriends even deal with this? How does he even deal with this?_

                “Hey…” he snapped her out of her thoughts. His voice was soft again, just like the first time they had a _date_. “You’re still not scared, are you?”

                She shook her head no, not meeting his eyes. She was a bad liar and she knew her eyes would give her away. She didn’t need for Harry to jump into his annoying, worried mother or boyfriend mode.

                “Like I’ve always said, I’m here to protect you.” She felt his fingers suddenly on her cheek, pushing away stray strands of her hair before he moved them down to her chin, forcing her to look up at him. “You believe me when I say that, right? That nothing will happen to you, or either of us, while I’m around. Right?”

                She nodded, wishing he wouldn’t touch her. She felt like she was going to start blushing and she didn’t need him teasing her about it later.

                It was as if he read her mind, because he was pulling his hand away quickly as he cleared his throat. He quickly looked up and down the hall before leading her down the stairs and out to his little blue Mercedes. Today was a brilliant sunny day, and she couldn’t wait to feel the wind in her hair as Harry drove her around.

                “So where do you want to go?” Harry asked as they backed out of his driveway. “One of those cute little boutiques we saw last time? They had some nice clothes.”

                “The question is: Where do _you_ want to go Harry?” She wanted to turn and smile but that felt so out of character. Yeah, they had been nicer to one another but they weren’t _there_ yet.

                “Me?” he trailed off, speeding through a green light. He drummed his fingers on the leather steering wheel, his lips slowly curling into a smile. “You know… it’s been ages since anyone has asked me what I wanted to do. Management is always like: do this, do that. Not as if they can fire me because _well_... I bring in the money, but it’s still annoying. All my previous girls… it was always about _me, me, me_.” He stopped himself after that sentence, shaking his head in an apology. “Sorry, got a bit carried away there.”

                “No it’s fine. It’s good to get things off your chest. Besides, I think we’ve been living together for long enough to talk about this kind of stuff.” To be honest, she was a bit interested in how he was in the past. The more he shared things about himself with her, she found herself liking him more and more.

                “You think?” He raised an eyebrow at her even though he needed to be paying attention to the road. The last thing she wanted to do was to end up off the road in some ditch with him. “There’s so much you haven’t told me though. Like, what about your previous relationships?”

                “Mine…” Grace trailed off, wishing they wouldn’t go down this road, but it was only fair. He had told her little slices of his past relationships, but only when upset. It wasn’t something he really liked to talk about. “I broke up with my ex about half a year ago.”

                “Why’d you guys break up?” Harry looked in his rearview mirror at the man riding his bumper. He held up the bird, making the guy speed around, honking his horn madly before speeding off to pass them. He then sharply cut right back in front of them.

                “Harry!” She yelled at him as he hit the brakes hard to avoid rear ending the man. There was a screech of rubber from both cars as the man sped away, laughing in his red convertible, and Harry righting his car back in the lane.

                “Sorry…” He muttered, making a disgusted face. “Sorry for getting in your business.”

                “No it’s not that…” she stopped talking, sighing. That’s not what she meant at all, she was talking about his bad driving, not her ex-boyfriend. But then again, it wasn’t as if she really wanted to tell Harry why she and Jake were no longer a thing.

                “Look, you don’t have to talk about it if you don’t want to. I’ve had my share of shitty relationships too; sometimes it’s best to leave the past in the past.”

                She nodded, not quite knowing what to say. She snuck a glance at him, realizing his face expression had hardened and he was frowning. _What happened to him in his past? Is it even possible for a girl to break Harry Styles?_

“Enough of that though. We’re here!” he said cheerfully as he aggressively pulled his tiny car into a spot behind a large SUV and a mini cooper. He happily put the car into park, pulling the key shortly afterwards and handing it to her. “Hold on to it for me. I always tend to misplace them.”

                She took the keys from him, putting them in a compartment in her purse. For a moment, she missed driving her own car, left abandoned in the garage by her old apartment complex. She had no place to put it when she moved in with Harry, so they both made arrangements with the landlord to leave it there in the garage when she moved out.

                While she was lost in thought, Harry was already out of the car and opening her car door. She stepped out, immediately feeling exposed out on the street with him but then she remembered the little chat they had after their first date.

                _“Remember, confidence is key,” Harry said, drawing a red X on a sheet of paper on the coffee table in front of them._ _“You gotta be confident with me, you gotta be confident with yourself. You’re my girlfriend after all.”_

_“Fake girlfriend,” she corrected him._

_“Fake…” he raised his eyebrows dramatically and rolled his eyes a bit. “Point is, to be with me, you have to be confident. Quietly confident, or boldly confident. You pick.”_

She sucked in a large amount of air while Harry paid the meter. _Today will be ok. Everything will be ok. We’ll have lots of fun despite faking this whole thing. Just enjoy yourself._

“Ready?” he asked. His hand brushed up against hers, making her tense a bit.

                _Relax. Relax._ She nodded.

                “Hey, ease up a bit.” Harry nudged her arm with his elbow, smiling down at her. “We’re friends right? Let’s have fun.”

                “If we’re friends, we’re not very good ones,” she commented as they started walking down the street together. Surprisingly, the somewhat clean sidewalk wasn’t very crowded, making her nerves ease up. Less of a chance for them to get spotted by someone crazy…

                “Nonsense. We have fun times don’t we? Like now?” He laughed to himself a bit. “If we aren’t friends what are we?”

                She shrugged, slightly bothered with his questions. At least he was in a better mood but goodness.

                “See!” He led her into a clothing store where they were immediately greeted by two female workers.

                “Welcome Harry!” they both said at the same time, almost as if on command. When Grace turned to look at them, they both reminded her of two dolls. Their makeup was flawless, and they were giving Harry the most beautiful smile…

                “Hi girls.” He smiled back, chewing on his gum.

                _Does he think they’re cute? What does it matter if he thinks they’re cute or not though?_ Grace watched him before noticing the girls had went to lock the door behind them. What on earth were they doing?

                “They have to lock up every time I come in. It makes it safer for all of us,” he commented, noticing how she was staring at the two girls in shock. “Especially since you’re here, I wanted to make arrangements for your safety as well.”

                She honestly felt like she was in a storybook with the way he was talking to her. _Why isn’t he this way at home? But why do I want him to act this way at home…_ He waved at the two girls again before leading Grace off towards the men’s section, straight to the shirts in particular. She watched him shop patiently, taking note of how his fingers would go over the fabric of each shirt he was interested in. She watched him flip over a price tag on one he must have liked and she nearly fainted. _$2000? For a sheer shirt?!_

                “Hey, Gracie, you like this one?”

                She couldn’t help but narrow her eyes at him when he shouted out her new nickname. She tried to compose herself though, noticing one of the workers was looking over in their direction with a loving look on her face, probably wishing she was with Harry instead.

                “Hmm…” She looked at the shirt Harry was holding. It was a long sleeve white button up with several zebras on the front, completely melting into the shirt at their white points. It was an interesting shirt… but she couldn’t say she liked it. Not wanting to hurt his feelings she simply said, “Why don’t you go try it on?”

                “Maybe.” He put it over his arm before shuffling back through the racks again. “But you know what I need? Some new jeans. I only have like what, two pairs?”

                She laughed with him a little as he led her over to the pants section. _How much are these going to cost? $5000?_ This was outrageous, but she guessed that when you’re a twenty-one year old millionaire, you didn’t really care what the price was.

                “Oh now these are nice.” He held up a pair of black jeans that were grey at the knee. There was a tasteful tear at the thigh on the left leg, none on the right. He raised his eyebrows at her in approval and she nodded. She could see him in those jeans.

                “Alright. I’m going to go try these on and I’ll be right back. Just wait right here!” He sat her down at a chair not too far from the changing rooms before disappearing into the back room.

                _I’m so glad he perked up._ She smiled to herself, happy she could make him feel better but then again she felt odd being so nice to him. He deserved it, but that wasn’t the issue. It was just how they had come along through this whole ordeal. There was no way she thought she’d still be with him after a month, but honestly, she really did enjoy his company.

                “Uhm… excuse me?”

                She looked up to find one of the workers from earlier staring down at her, a weak smile on her face. “Oh, yes?” she tried to sound polite but in all honestly she wanted to be left alone. What could this woman want?

                “Harry really likes you, doesn’t he?”

                Grace nearly frowned at her question but remembered to correct herself. _What a weird question…_ Not quite knowing what to say she just nodded, faking a shy smile.

                “Oh I can tell he does!” The girl suddenly became very excited. “By the way he looks at you and talks about you… You’re the luckiest girl… no you _have_ to be the luckiest girl on the whole planet. Harry’s a really sweet guy.”

                “Thanks.” She nodded at her. This had to be one of the first people to speak so fondly of him in public to her. “He really is a gentleman.”

                “That too! Ah… but Grace, can I have your autograph? And his too when he comes back?”

                Grace stared at her, feeling rather out of place. _My? Autograph? What for? I’m just his girlfriend…_ “Sure. Of course!”

                As she signed a sheet of paper on a clipboard the girl had hidden behind her back the whole time the girl continued on, “You two have to be the cutest new couple of the year. You’ve guys kept it so hush hush too! I can tell Harry thinks a lot of you to keep you hidden. He’s really taking care of you.”

                _Yeah it’s been hush hush because we’re not real._ She politely handed the girl the piece of paper back and the marker. Before the worker could annoy her any further Harry came out of the dressing room, nearly taking her breath away. If looks could kill, he would have killed her now.

                “How do I look?” He raised both his eyebrows at her.

                “You look…” she paused, looking him up and down as she stood up. The black jeans hugged his thighs perfectly, even meeting the curve of his ass. She could see part of his white thigh peeking from beneath the tear in his jeans, almost making her blush. Surprisingly, the zebra shirt looked really good on him, but then again that was just the Harry Styles aesthetic. His bird tattoos were clearly visible, as he had left several of the top buttons undone. For once, she saw the butterfly tattoo on his stomach making her wonder if he had left several buttons undone on purpose.

                “Amazing,” she finished, meeting his eyes. He had a smirk on his face, clearly enjoying her checking him out from all angles. She started blushing but he just chuckled quietly to himself, his eyes going from Grace to the worker still standing by her. He raised his eyebrows but Grace shook her head no. She knew what that meant. It was their universal, _Is she messing with you_ look.

                “Think I’ll get it then. The jeans. Not the zebra shirt. Not my style.” He then disappeared back into the changing room. He returned moments later, the clothes draped across his arm, to stand next to her.

                “Oh Harry, she wanted your autograph.” Grace smiled at the worker next to her and the girl seemed to light up like a Christmas tree.

                “Alrighty then.” He smiled at her, taking the sheet of paper and clipboard from her. “What’s your name?”

                “Grace! Like your girlfriend!”

                Both Harry and Grace looked at each other, Grace trying hard not to laugh. This girl… No wonder why she was so into their relationship… That or she had a few loose screws.

                “Grace it is then,” Harry had a smile in his voice as he signed the sheet of paper. He handed it back to her, smiling. “Thanks for being a fan.”

                “Thanks for being you!” She happily walked away, smiling from ear to ear as she stared at the autograph.

                “Well… guess it’s your turn now.”

                “What?” She turned to look at him, just wondering what on earth he was talking about.

                “Your turn to shop! It’s rude if I just buy stuff for myself and you get nothing, dontcha think?”

                “Harry I don’t have this type of money,” she whispered harshly as he walked her upstairs to the women’s section anyway. _Besides, I still have to pay you back for everything you’ve done for me up to this point…_

                “Who said _you_ were paying?” He immediately went over to the skirt section, eyeing several very expensive looking pieces. The man had expensive tastes, he never went for the cheapest ones on the rack.

                “Harry I just can’t have you buying stuff for me left and right! I mean, dinner is fine, but clothes now?”

                “What size do you wear?” he asked, ignoring her question. When she told him he picked out several simple skirts. He then moved over to the shirt section, finding her a nice white button down with gold buttons.

                “These. I want you to try them on.” He handed her two skirts and the shirt, not even acknowledging what she had said earlier.

                “But-”

                “No buts! Just… They’ll look great on you. I’ll wait for you outside the dressing room.” He then shoved Grace lightly in the right direction, giving her a promising smile.

                _Harry I swear…_ She headed into the dressing room to get changed, wondering why on earth he was doing this. This was his shopping date, not hers. She just wanted to do something nice for him, that was it.

                Feeling self-conscious as she put the clothes he picked out for her on, she let out a sigh. _Is this really ok?_ She usually just wore dress slacks or a pair of jeans, never a skirt or dress unless it was for a special occasion like a formal event or party. Harry had to have gotten this all wrong…

                “You ok in there?”

                She nearly jumped out of her clothes when the loud knock came at the dressing room door accompanied by Harry’s voice. _What is he doing back here!?_ “Harry!? What are you doing?”

                “Well you were taking so long I started to get worried.”

                _Not this again…_ “So you come into the women’s dressing room? They’re going to think the wrong thing!”

                “So?” She heard the laughter in his voice. Was this a game to him? “We are boyfriend and girlfriend aren’t we? It’s normal to do these types of things.”

                “Maybe it’s normal to you but it’s not to me…” She resisted the urge to call him Styles at that moment. She hadn’t called him by his surname in forever, but in this moment it felt right. She threw the door open to the dressing room stall, glaring at him.

                “What a face!” He was smirking at her before he looked her up and down. He whistled, his smirk turning into a smile. “You look really nice Gracie. Like amazing.”

                “Thanks…” she said quietly, not wanting to get into an argument with him in public. For all she knew, the workers could be around the corner.

                “Do you like it?” he suddenly asked, meeting her eyes.

                “I…” she paused. The clothing was more than she could ask for. The fabric was so soft and it seemed to hug her body in all the right places. It was nothing like the clothes she had back home…

                “No matter what you think, I think you look smashing. It really suits you.” He was still smiling at her, nearly making her blush again. “You want to get them?”

                “Harry I can’t have you buying-”

                “Do you like the clothes I picked out for you?” He leaned on the stall door, his face suddenly close to hers. _What on earth was he trying to do!?_

“I… yes I do like them.” She looked up into his eyes, getting lost in them for a moment. He was so beautiful…

                “Then it’s settled.” He flashed her a smile before leaning back again. “Meet me on the outside when you’re done changing.” He was then gone out of the narrow hall, leaving her alone again in the dressing room.

                When she changed back into her regular clothes, Harry walked her to the front desk, paying for both his jeans and her outfits. She had to admit, she felt weird with about $10,000 worth of clothes in a bag he was holding for her as they walked down the street together in the fading evening sun.

                “Anything else you want to do?” Harry asked, twirling the bags on his index finger.

                “The question should be: Do _you_ want to do anything?”

                He raised an eyebrow at her in question. “Why me?”

                “Because…” she started, wondering if she should even continue. Despite thinking he wouldn’t open up to her, she kept going anyway. “You looked like something was bothering you last night… I just wanted to make it up to you today. I don’t like you going around the house looking sad.”

                Harry stopped walking, looking at her curiously for a while. She wondered if she had said the wrong thing until he broke out into a small smile. “All this… for me?”

                She nodded, unable to still look at him. _This feels too real… Being here with him like this. He gets so excited over small things and it’s really cute…_

“Thanks,” he said quietly. The next thing she knew, his body was pressed against hers in a hug. She wanted to wiggle her way out of it, but something about how safe and strong his arms felt made her feel at ease. How he always smelled like peppermints and his special cologne made her stay there. Harry still felt and smelled like _home_.

                “Thank you,” he whispered again against her hair. She felt a cold chill run down her spine as he ran his hands up and down her back before letting her go, smiling down at her. He looked genuinely happy, but something else was there too? Before she could think about it much longer, it looked like he was going to lean down and kiss her but was interrupted by girls calling his name.

                Grace let out a sigh when he turned away to tend to his fans who wanted pictures with him, going back to that time he had first kissed her. Even though she’d never admit it, heck, she’d barely admit it to herself, she would give anything to kiss him again. _He said it was all an act, but just now, he looked like he was going to do it again? What was that about?_

“Your girlfriend is so pretty!” she heard one of the girls say, glancing her way. “You’re so lucky to have her!”

                “Thanks.” Harry nodded at the three girls. “She’s all I could have ever asked for.”

                She wanted to say that it was Harry just acting, but the way his eyes twinkled when he spoke about her said something different to her. _Or maybe it’s just because I want him to like me?_ She froze, meeting Harry’s eyes as he turned to return to her. Were Zayn’s stupid words about her liking him wearing off on her?

                “Ready to head back?” He smiled at her. He was gorgeous, standing in the orange rays of the sun, his hair blowing in the gentle breeze.

                She nodded, lost for words. Harry wasn’t a bad person, there was no reason to dislike him… But liking him romantically? That wasn’t an option… They had to fake this whole relationship thing for a while longer then break it off. She wouldn’t be in his life anymore, he wouldn’t be in hers.

                Pushing those thoughts aside, she tried to think about how successful she was in getting Harry back in his happy mood again. From now on, everything should be all right. They just had to keep this act up for a bit longer.

                And even though she never thought it would happen, she couldn’t fall for Harry Styles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Want to have a hint on the second surprise? Just know it's coming next update and will make you fall in love with your favorite character all over again. Until next time...!


	16. Sparks

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the mid-week update! Happy reading guys; you'll really like this chapter!

                “Louis... He wants to meet you.”

                If Grace was younger, she'd be jumping out of her seat screaming at the thought of Louis Tomlinson wanting to meet her, but her twenty-one year old self stayed calm and collected. She didn't have an out of control crush on Louis anymore, she was Harry's fake girlfriend now.

                “What for? Why all of a sudden?” She looked over the table at Harry. The two had decided on a date at a small cafe that evening, Harry's choice. He said he was tired of cooking at home and didn't want her to wear herself out cooking for him so they could come here. It was low key and no one had bothered them.

                Yet.

                “Thanks to Liam running his big mouth, Louis thinks you and I are dating.” Harry forked a small piece of chicken into his mouth.

                “Well did you tell him…?” she trailed off, lowering her voice in case anyone was eavesdropping. Hopefully Harry would be able to fill in the dots.

                “I haven't got a chance to.”

                “Harry!”

                “Sorry! It's just he's so excited about the me-you thing… Grace... He actually believes the whole thing.” He seemed quite amused with the whole situation but she certainly felt differently.

                She rolled her eyes, picking at the forgotten pickle on her plate from her sandwich. _This was so not happening..._

                “So when do you want to meet him?”

                “You already know my schedule Harry. No Monday's or Tuesday's, I've got lessons with Happy...”

                “No Thursday's either because that's your _me_ day.” Harry laughed when she frowned at him. He suddenly reached over with his fork, stealing the pickle from her plate and downing it at the speed of light. “You weren't eating it!” he exclaimed in defense when she frowned at him.

                “Harry you're so…”

                “So what?” he was smirking over the table at her.

                “Just tell Louis this Friday. You're off, I'm not going out with anyone, so our side is clear,” she said, avoiding his question. He was always doing stuff like this, trying to corner her into saying something ridiculous.

                “Sounds alright to me. Here, you text him from my phone and I'll go get us dessert.” Harry pushed his iPhone towards her while getting up from the table before she could protest. Harry paid for her too much these days... He was a millionaire but why was he so into spending his money on her? He never let her pay for anything... Not that she was complaining, but she found it unusual.

                She unlocked his phone having already memorized his password by heart, his mom's birthday. She opened his messaging, finding he had been chatting with Niall and Zayn about something and then a few other people she didn't recognize. Perhaps people from work or his other friends? Trying not to be nosy she started a new message, finding Louis' contact information under the name _Tommo_. She quickly began to compose a message, wondering if she could come off as sounding like Harry.

                **_Hey! How about we meet this Friday?_**

                She pressed send, looking over her shoulder to watch Harry order their dessert. In that moment, he almost looked like a normal person as he tried to explain what toppings he wanted but he still had that celebrity glow. He just shone everywhere he went, he had a special aura about him.

                She felt Harry's phone vibrate under her fingers suddenly. She looked down to find Louis hadn't answered but instead it was his mom. She didn't want to intrude on his privacy but she couldn't help but to read the message preview.

                **_Hey honey! How's it going? I miss you! Been seeing you all over the news lately. :) She really is a cute one Harry… call me when you get a chance!_**

                _Is she talking about me_? As soon as she was done reading the message the screen shut off just in the nick of time since Harry was at the table again, sliding himself into the uncomfortable wooden chair.

                “He text back?” He had a massive bowl of what looked like a warm brownie with slowly melting ice cream on top. It looked delicious, with pecans scattered here and there on top of both the ice cream and brownie. Could he really eat all of that alone?

                “Not yet but your mom texted.” She slid the phone back to him and he immediately unlocked it to read the message.

                He read it, smiling just a bit as he answered his mom back. “I haven't had time to talk to her in ages, let alone see her.” After answering her back he looked up at Grace. “How's your mom?”

                “I actually haven't heard from her or had the time to talk since this mess started with us living together,” she said honestly. She felt a bit awkward talking to Harry about family. It was something they had never really discussed before.

                “You should give her a call when we get back! We can both call our mums.” He flashed her another smile before he started cutting the brownie in half with a fork. He really was perky today... “I bought this for the both of us. I hope you like it; it's one of my favorites.” He then frowned, looking at her seriously. “You aren't allergic to nuts, are you?”

                She shook her head no, trying to hold back her laugh at the face he was making. Was he that concerned about her choking and breaking out in rash? “No Harry I'm not. It's OK.”

                “What's so funny?” He started laughing a little bit too, then something really must've tickled him as he full out started laughing hard, putting the fork down to cover his face. “You know when I used to ask girls that question… they'd never respond like that. Maybe because it was under different situations too.”

                “Harry!” she said a bit too loud, making the older couple sitting not too far from them turn around in annoyance and shock. She then lowered her voice, “I meant actual nuts.”

                “I meant actual nuts too.” He still had that childish smirk on his face when he leaned back to breathe. He quickly composed himself, noticing the older couple was still staring at them. “But besides the nut topic… Anything you want to do later?”

                She shrugged, thinking about it for a moment. She didn't mind the usual: a nice quiet relaxing walk with him down the street. It was kind of romantic, walking side by side in the cooling evening air, pointing out several little boutiques as they passed them by. Sometimes Harry would tell jokes that were so bad she'd end up laughing anyway; it was all in all a great time.

                “Looks like you have something on your mind.” Harry had finished cutting her portion of the dessert, sliding the small white dessert plate over to her.

                “Harry this is a really big piece.” She glanced at her cut and then his as well. He seemed to have divided it equally but just why did it seem to double in size?

                “You like this kind of stuff though right? Once you take a bite you won't regret it, see?” He grabbed an unused spoon, taking care to get both ice cream and brownie on it before holding it up to her face.

                _You have got to be kidding me..._ Grace narrowed her eyes at him in annoyance but Harry kept a consistent face. “Don't be shy.”

                “I swear... ” she muttered under her breath, trying to keep up this facade with him. She leaned in, eating off his spoon. He smiled at her when she found herself enjoying the flavor of both the strong chocolate and rich vanilla. Was that a bit of caramel as well?

                “Told you you'd love it.” He set the spoon down on the napkin near him before lowering his head to eat his portion, seeming to go off into space after that.

                The two were mostly quiet after that, enjoying the last bit of their food. Harry asked her if she was ready to go, and the next thing she knew they were out the door and walking down the quiet street without any problems.

                It was strange actually, to not have Harry's fans around or the crazy paps swarming like moths to a light, but at the same time it was a relief. They could talk comfortably and enjoy each other's company.

                “You sure are quiet over there; did you enjoy tonight's little treat?” He had his hands clasped behind his back, his long legs keeping stride with her shorter ones. She had admired him earlier when they both left his place together, but he looked damn good in the rapidly fading evening sun as well.

                “It was fun to get out.” She looked over at him to find he had been staring at her this whole time. His long hair curled loosely along the side of his face, looking as soft and fluffy as ever but stopping just at his chin. His green eyes caught the last lights from the setting sun, his pink lips eventually changing from a thin line to a gentle smile at her answer.

                They stared at each other for a while before Grace looked away first, realizing he was staring at her as if he was trying to burn her face into memory. She self-consciously tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear, finding herself starting to blush. What made it worse was she suddenly felt Harry's arm around her shoulder.

                “What are you-?”

                “Just go with it.” He whispered, leaning his head in closer. “Remember, we're _dating_.”

                The way he sung the word dating made her want to cringe, but she held it in. _Just imagine him as this gorgeous stunning guy you've always wanted to date..._ She took in a deep breath, after a while not minding him being so close. He was warm, and as usual, smelled of peppermints and the tiniest hint of chocolate. She could live with that. She couldn't live with the way Harry was suddenly leaning over, his lips so close to the side of her face she could feel his breath on her cheek.

                “You think we look good together?” He suddenly asked, making her turn to look at him. Their faces were so close her nose almost hit his, but he didn’t seem to mind as he didn’t pull back.

                “Have you been talking with Zayn?” She tried to laugh it off but Harry seemed dead serious.

                He shrugged. “I just thought about it. I mean every time they talk about us in the news, they say we're great for each other even though they have no idea what's going on.”

                “That's because they're silly news people Harry.” Why was he acting so weird all of a sudden? No... He'd been acting weird ever since he came back from that interview. That was it. She still didn’t know what it was, she really wish she did, but she couldn’t get an answer out of him. She cleared her throat. “What do you think about… _us_?” She didn't mean for her voice to tremble a bit at the end from nervousness but it did. She felt Harry's fingers on her shoulder, but as soon as he was about to open his mouth, he was cut off by screaming.

                “OH MY GOD IT'S HARRY STYLES!”

                Grace was nearly used to it now, fans approaching them for an autograph or picture, but this time was completely different. She could hear Harry sigh under his breath as the three girls approached, completely ignoring Grace. Usually fans were polite, trying not to ruin their date but these girls...

                “Harry can you please take a picture with us?” One girl asked, the other two doing a happy dance in the background.

                “Yeah sure.” Grace knew Harry would never say no to a fan, even if they were rude. He gave her a glance before removing his arm from her shoulder to sign a One Direction calendar one of the girls pulled from nowhere, then he turned to take a picture with the three, giving a half smile up to the camera. He was clearly not pleased about being interrupted.

                But then it got Grace thinking. Why would these girls be carrying around a One Direction calendar on a regular day? Had they maybe stalked them? The fact that they caught them out on this street with no one only made her believe it more...

                “Harry can we ask you something?” The one with darker hair asked as he tried to walk back to Grace after he had completed their requests.

                “Yeah sure.” He took several steps backwards, putting his hands in his pocket. He was giving off the vibe of not wanting to be bothered, but the girls could care less.

                “Why are you with _her_?” She twirled her long black hair around her finger, giving Grace a look full of venom. What was this girl's issue? “What’s so good about her?”

                “Excuse me?” Harry seemed genuinely offended at her words as he frowned. “Because I love her. Isn't it normal to be with the one you love?”

                Grace stood there quietly, watching as Harry snorted at the girls before walking back over to her, slinging his arm right back over her shoulder. She knew he didn't mean it, he couldn't possibly mean it, but she felt something deep inside her when he told the girls he loved her. Besides that fact, she never had seen him get so offended over anything unless someone was calling his hair a weave.

                He didn't say anything else to the girls, he just simply started to walk her away from them to continue their nightly stroll but the girls wouldn't stop there. They just couldn’t after Harry wasn’t nice to them for once.

                “You deserve better than her Harry! She's a nobody and she's ugly! No one would want to date her!”

                “Don't listen to them,” Harry's voice was right in her ear. She knew the girl was still screaming, but Harry blocked out those hurtful words by putting his hands over her ears, but the damage was already done.

                Grace had thought about it before, countless times when she was alone in his house with nothing to do, when she couldn't sleep at night because she missed her apartment, even when he smiled fondly at her from the other side of the sofa on a late night. She didn't belong with him, this was a mistake to begin with, and he could do better with the beautiful women he was in the music business with. But this struck home, confirming those old thoughts and bringing them to light.

                “No Harry, they're right.” She knew she sounded defeated in front of him as she pushed his hands away. She hated sounding weak in front of him, she had always been strong and independent since high school. Nearly nothing brought her down, but this hurt. She shouldn't be with him even if they were faking... None of this should have happened.

                “What are you talking about Grace?” He looked concerned as he walked around to face her. Seeing him this way made her want to cry.

                “You know exactly what I'm talking about Harry!” She snapped at him. She then lowered her voice to a harsh whisper, knowing the girls were long gone, she just couldn't afford to break down in front of him. “They're right.”

                He took in a deep sigh, shaking his head. “Gracie... They're far from right.” His hands were warm when he softly cupped her cheeks. “They're silly little girls, wishing they could be in your position.” He gave her a half smile. “You can't honestly believe them.”

                _Thing is, I do Harry. I always think about it._ She just sighed, not voicing her opinion. It was useless talking to him about this, he wouldn't understand. Just staring into his eyes at this moment was killing her and she needed to get away.

                Harry would never let that happen though.

                “Don't listen to anything anyone ever says. You're beautiful.” He wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug, burying his face into her hair. It was a movement that took her by complete surprise.

                “You're only saying this because we're acting.” She wanted to push him away, but he was comforting. The way his large hands rubbed her back, the way his face fitted into the crook of her neck… It was almost as if they fit…

                He was silent for a moment, letting out a sigh. She wanted him to say he wasn't acting for some reason, she wanted him to validate that he at least thought something about her… Even if it wasn’t romantic, at least in a friendly way?

                “You should know me well enough by now to know I wouldn’t let _anyone_ say _anything_ that stupid to you like that. Doesn’t matter if we’re acting or not. You don’t deserve to hear anything upsetting.” He pulled away briefly, suddenly pressing his forehead against hers. It was short and sweet, the feeling of his lips on hers. So short she wasn’t sure if it happened at all. It made her go numb, but he was already moving away to hug her again under the streetlights as they flickered to life in the fading sunset.

                She wanted to say it was acting… no… she wanted it to be real. She wanted him to say he kissed her because he felt something… Not because he was obligated to in case their relationship was put to the test.

               Just like when she felt something when he kissed her for the first time, just like she had felt something a moment ago when he told those girls he loved her, she felt something again with his strong arms wrapped around her, trying to comfort her in any way he could. That feeling was just a tiny spark that would set fire in the near future.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading again guys! Hope you enjoyed the little 'surprise' of the week. As always, thanks for reading, thanks for the comments/kudos. I love reading all the comments, so don't be shy! You're much appreciated. Thank you!!


	17. Marriage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the last update of the week! You'll finally be meeting possibly one of your favorites in this update. Happy reading and happy May!

                It was just a few hours before Grace would be meeting Louis, Harry’s right hand man. She felt a bit nervous meeting him, unlike when she met the other guys. When she met Harry’s other bandmates, she didn’t feel a thing at all. They were like regular everyday people. The only exception was Zayn but it was only his attractive factor. Now they nearly texted each other every other day about this and that. But with Louis… she had no idea what to think.  _How can I meet his expectations? What if he ends up hating me and makes it hard on Harry? What if he sees right through us and calls us out?_

                “You’re doing it again.”

                She glanced back at Harry who was leaning on the kitchen counter separating the living room from the kitchen. He was wearing one of his soft black jackets over a simple white V-neck shirt. To match, the black jeans Grace helped him pick out at the store, and a pair of black boots. He looked amazing as always, even if his outfit was so simple.

                 _Whoever marries him is one lucky girl._  As soon as she thought it she felt her stomach do a flip flop. _Why am I even thinking about this?_ “I’m doing what again?” she asked instead, trying to put her silver necklace on with the help of the mirror in his hallway.

                “The What-If game you love to play in your mind.” He stood up to help her, nearly pressing his chest against her back as he took both ends of the necklace from her fingers.

_It’s really as if he can read my mind…_  He had been doing that often these days, getting right into her head. How he did it, she had no idea. She couldn’t even understand his motives half the time. Just like the events of the other night… _Harry is a nice guy… but he didn’t need to kiss me…_

                She hadn’t asked him about why he had done it, she already knew the answer. He’d tell her it was an act and he felt nothing. He wanted to impress whoever might have been taking a picture or video, not allowing their fake relationship to slip through the cracks.

_He said he wasn’t like that… he told me he was nothing like I thought he was but yet, I can’t help but to think if he goes around kissing other girls just because?_

                Getting rid of those thoughts, she looked at them both in the mirror. He was the perfect height for her, his chin could rest on the top of her head if he gave her a back hug. Then she got to thinking…

_“You think we look good together?”_

She could still hear his voice from a few nights ago in her mind. How could she forget that night?

                 _But we’re acting…_  She caught his eye in the mirror, turning to face him to give him her thanks but he was already talking, “You look gorgeous.” He smiled down at her, nearly making her blush.  _What’s going on with me these days; where the little things he does for me make me feel this way? He’s just my roommate… the guy I’ve been living with for a month and a half._

                “Thanks,” she whispered. “You look great yourself.”

                “Thanks.” He raised his eyebrows. “Ready?”

                She nodded, starting to walk towards the front door but he stopped her. “Just remember what we talked about the other night. Everything will be ok. Don’t worry about a thing.” He winked at her before he looked over his shoulder, making sure the door was closed to the guest bedroom where Happy was. He then led her to the front door, opening the door on their lunch plans.

                 _How is today going to go?_  She couldn’t help but think despite Harry’s words.

 

* * *

                “Hey mate!”

                The familiar British accent sent chills down Grace’s spine as it cut through her conversation with Harry. They had arrived ten minutes early for their reservations to only find Louis wasn’t there yet. Harry had texted him, asking him if he forgot, but the oldest band member never did text back leaving Grace and Harry to talk about whatever came to mind as they waited.

                “Hey!” Harry shouted back, smiling at Grace before he started to wave at Louis. “What took you so long?”

                “You know me Harold, always getting there just in the nick of time.” He then turned to Grace, his eyebrows raising and a small smirk forming on his lips. “Harold…?”

                “This is Grace. Grace Evergreen.” Harry smiled at her fondly. “Grace, this is Louis Tomlinson.”

                “Such a formal greeting.” Louis rolled his eyes. “She already knows who I am!” He then turned to Grace, smiling politely, completely changing his behavior. “It’s nice to meet you finally miss.”

                “It’s nice to meet you too.” She couldn’t help but smile at the way these two went at it. Nothing had really changed since they used to fool around with each other back in 2010. They still seemed to be great friends, developing their relationship after 5 years of being together.

                “Where’s Eleanor?” Harry asked, looking through the crowd of people waiting to be seated.

                Grace looked up at him. He didn’t tell her that she’d be coming…

                “Couldn’t make it. So it’s just you, me… and your beautiful girlfriend here.” Louis winked at her, sending another wave of chills down her spine. He was still hot, maybe even more than he was in 2013, heck he was even hotter in person…

                 _Woah Grace do not get the hots for Louis Tomlinson right now… You’re Harry’s girlfriend and it would look bad if you were checking out his bandmate right in front of him._

                She unexpectedly felt Harry’s arm around her shoulders at that moment.  _What is he doing?_ “Shall we go eat?” He raised his eyebrows at Louis in what seemed to be a friendly way but Grace saw the slight edge in his green eyes. _What was that look?_

                “Oh yeah I’m starving!” Louis didn’t seem to notice as he walked up to the front desk, confirming all party members had arrived. They were then led off to a private room where they could dine comfortably.

                “So I’m really curious…” Louis started as soon as they got their drink orders in. “How the hell did you two manage to hide this relationship for so long? Even from me.” He moved his napkin from one side of the table to the other before looking at Grace. “I didn’t know Harry had a girlfriend Grace until Liam busted out with it in an interview!”

                 _That I know…_  She cleared her throat, glancing at Harry. “Harry wanted to wait until the time was right to tell anyone.”

                “God Harry are you marrying the girl, because this is what it sounds like to me!”

                Grace thought she saw a thin line of blush on Harry's cheeks but it was gone as soon as it was there. “You know it gets messy Louis when we let the public know we’re dating. Our younger fans can’t handle it, and with Grace being so special, I can’t let that happen.” He smiled at her again as if she was his entire world. She faked a blush, knowing she was anything than that. _He just uses me for free kisses…_

                “True but you never did this with your other girls.” Louis eyes flicked from both him and Grace. _What was that look? And this is starting to be just a conversation between these two..._

                “They weren’t like her.” It seemed Louis had struck a vein as Harry flinched a bit. Was it because of his past dating history or the fact he was trying to find more lies? “Grace isn’t a model or famous like those other girls, I don’t want her name out there like that.”

                “She looks damn good enough to be a model, could’ve had me fooled. So what are you then?” Louis then directed the question at her for once.

                “I’m just a fan of you guys…” She felt Harry’s hand suddenly on her chair. _Why is he being so touchy feely today?_

                “That used to work at a dog biscuit office,” Harry laughed under his breath at her. She glared at him but Louis didn't seem to hear him or he didn't care.

                “Well aren’t you lucky!” Louis leaned back in his seat, letting out a breath. “That explains a lot then. That explains a lot…” he trailed off just as the waiter brought them their drinks and began to take their orders.

                “I’ll have… the steak and shrimp. Don’t bring out the shrimp sauce though, nasty stuff.” Louis handed the waiter his menu, taking a sip of his Coke as the waiter turned to Harry.

                “You go first,” he said, giving her a small smile. “Or do you want me to recommend?”

                She knew Harry always recommended good food, so she went with the latter. He turned to the waiter, listing off something that sounded like it would break the bank.

                _What is wrong with this man?_ She made a face at him as she handed him her menu, making him make one back. She really couldn’t understand him…

                When the waiter was gone, the conversation started back up again. Louis was still trying to fill in the dots with their relationship, but once he was satisfied, they all started talking about more diverse topics. Before she knew it, they had all finished lunch and it was time to head back home.

 

* * *

                “You Grace, are something else,” Louis said as they walked out of the restaurant together, Harry having disappeared earlier to use the restroom as soon as they all got up to leave. “I couldn’t honestly believe Harry had a girlfriend at first; it’s been so long since he’s found anyone.”

                “What do you mean?” She raised her eyebrows at him.

                He shrugged. “You know, it’s hard to find someone that will like you for just you when you’re in this business.” He looked at her, his blue eyes beautiful in the afternoon sunlight. “You seem like that right fit for him, what he needs. Harold gets lonely a lot… and…” he shook his head, not finishing his sentence. “Anyway, it really was nice to meet you. I really enjoyed today.”

                “It was nice to meet you too.” She wondered just what he stopped himself from saying. What kind of secrets haunted Harry’s past? It wasn't any of her business if Harry wouldn't tell her, but she still was curious. “I can imagine it is hard to find someone… I couldn’t imagine what it must be like to walk in you guy’s shoes.”

                “Oh it’s incredible… but at the same time, it has its downfalls.” Louis looked sad for a while but he quickly perked up, giving her a dazzling smile where his eyes crinkled at the corners. “Well I’m happy for you both.” He patted her shoulder. “Next time, I’ll come over and visit since you two are living together. Can't believe that either! Well I got to get back, El wanted me to pick her up from her doctor's appointment.” He winked at her before waving goodbye and walking away.

                She waved back, watching him go. He completely believed the whole thing about them dating, and she was still baffled. Were they that good at acting or was he just playing along?

                “Hey!” Harry suddenly appeared next to her, still tucking in his shirt to his jeans. He stopped talking, looking around for his friend. “Where's Louis?”

                “Oh he left. He said he had to pick Eleanor up.”

                “Oh.” Harry seemed to be a bit disappointed.

                “He said he really enjoyed it though, meeting me and seeing you again.”

                “Of course he enjoyed meeting you!” Harry smiled at her, reaching up to push some of her hair out of her face. “Told you today would be just fine.”

                “But yeah Harry, you forgot something.” She started to walk back to his car parked in a garage with him following right at her side.

                “What?”

                “Louis still believes it,” she lowered her voice, walking closer to him.

                “It just proves how far we can really go.” Harry looked down and smirked at her.

                “How far we can really go…” she muttered after him. Before he could say anything she asked, “Are you ever going to tell him the truth?”

                “He can figure it out on his own. Louis is a smart guy.”

                _Apparently not._ She sighed. Now they had to trick both the media and somehow not let Louis know this was all a lie.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys, hope you enjoyed it even though it was on the shorter side! Next update I'm gonna twist it up a bit but don't worry, it's not a major twist up ha. You'll really enjoy it either way; it's personally one of my favorite chapters and the game changer of this story. So with that in mind, look out for next week's update and thanks for all the beautiful comments and kudos/subs! I really appreciate everything! You guys really make this story even more of a blast to write! Thank you.


	18. Hope

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a bit late, I wanted to get it up a few hours earlier but here's the first update of the week! This has to be one of the most important chapters in the story. Happy reading guys! 
> 
> Note and Minor Spoiler (hover to read): Content of Today's Chapter

                “Hey Harry! I’m going out today!”

                Harry poked his head from outside his bedroom, his hair unkempt and unruly. On any other man, she wouldn’t have liked it, but the way his curls somehow still fell perfectly along the side of his face made it alright. “Without me?”

                “I just hung out with you the other day!” She checked herself out in the mirror in the hall before looking back at him. She was trying to keep it classy today, simple light blue jeans with shoes with a bit of heel. Her shirt was black sheer, Harry’s style rubbing off on her. “It’ll only be for a little while.”

                “Who are you going with?” He walked out of his room in nothing but a pair of basketball shorts and an unbuttoned shirt. She hadn’t seen him shirtless before, but this was really close.

                “One of my friends,” she lied easily. It wasn’t that she wanted to lie to Harry, she just needed to talk to someone else in private without him tagging along.

                She had texted that someone the night after she got back from lunch with Harry and Louis. She just couldn’t get the events of that night under the streetlights out of her mind. She just really needed someone to talk to that wouldn’t run their mouth and go tell Harry.

                And that person was Zayn Malik.

                “You never go out with friends.” Harry looked down at her as he came to stand closer. “Come to think of it… do you have any?”

                “Of course I do!” She frowned at him. “It’s just… after our incident I haven’t had a chance to talk to them, and of course they can’t get into contact with me because my number changed.”

                “Oh… I’m sorry…” He immediately apologized. He was always this way… quickly apologizing when things went wrong, even when they weren’t his fault.

                “Don’t worry about it, it’s not your fault.” She looked away from him, finding herself focusing on his lips. _Why do I want to kiss him all of a sudden?_ “But uh… I have to go now before I’m late! Wouldn’t want to keep him waiting!”

                “It’s a _he_?” Harry raised an eyebrow at her in complete shock. “You interested in this guy?”

                “We’re just friends Harry. Nothing else.” She saw that same look in his eyes like when he had looked at Louis the other day for winking at her. He wasn’t jealous of her going out with another guy, was he?

                “Do you want me to tag along? In case-”

                “Harry really, its fine. I’ll be back before you know it!” She reached up, ruffling his hair fondly before she was out the door. It was out of character, she knew it big time, but she just needed him to trust her and not come after her.

* * *

 

                Grace opened the front door of the small coffee shop, looking around for the man she’d been texting on and off for weeks. The place was mostly empty, save the workers, but she found him as he waved her over, a wide smile on his face.

                “Was gettin’ worried if you’d make it or not.” He leaned on the wooden table as she sat across from him, his hazel eyes looking her over. “Surprised Harry even let you out.”

                “Him…” she sighed. She barely had made it out past him; he was so set on coming with her she wouldn’t put it past him that he’d follow her out here. That was one of her worries, but the other was the paps stalking her and Zayn out here. They had already made up some bs story about her and Louis dating, now she didn’t need Zayn’s name attached.

                “How’s it going with you two? I’ve been seeing people talking about you both all over Twitter. Kinda cute actually…”

                “It’s anything but _cute_ ,” she rolled her eyes, letting out a sigh. _It would be cute if Harry would quit fooling around…_

                Zayn sat back in his seat as if knocked back by the force of her words. “Woah woah woah! I was just saying…” He chuckled a bit, scratching at the tiny amount of scruff on his chin. He seemed to nod in acceptance as he said, “You and Harry make quite a pair…” Before she could reject that idea, he kept going. “But anyway babe, why’d you want to talk _alone_?”

                Grace cleared her throat, looking around them to make sure no one was nosying into their conversation. The workers were behind the counter helping a new customer, an old lady, order but other than that no one was around. She then leaned in on the table closer to whisper, “It’s about Harry…”

                “ _This_ again! If there was an award for it, you two would win the most frustrating couple of the year award.” He took an exaggerated breath before continuing. “Honestly, why don’t you two just talk it out? Why are you both acting like you’re in some high school romance?”

                “No but Zayn you don’t get it! I’ve been nice to him, I’ve made it up to him, we don’t fight anymore, but he still doesn’t tell me things!”

                “Well maybe he doesn’t have reason to tell you? I mean you guys have only been knowing each other for what? A month and a half now?” He rubbed at his ring finger.

                “That’s not the point though!” She shook her head. She and Harry had shared a lot of things with each other in the time they’d been together. She knew what his allergies were, she knew he was not a morning person, he knew she couldn’t stand scary movies and spiders and they even talked to each other about their families sometimes. They were plenty of close these days. “It’s… we did something we shouldn’t have and he keeps saying _‘it’s an act!’_ but he behaves really weird? I can’t explain it…”

                “Woah wait? You two fucked? Already?” Zayn wiggled his eyebrows in surprise. “Wasn’t expecting that to happen-”

                “No! God Zayn we just… kissed.” She felt a blush coming on from just thinking about Harry kissing her. They weren’t even real kisses, she knew it, but it was just the fact he felt so good, and held her so close… What was it really like if he would kiss her for real?

                “Was he your first kiss or something?” Zayn frowned, not understanding what the big deal was. “I mean come on, it’s _just_ a kiss. You’re acting like you two had sex.”

                “You kiss someone when you like them Zayn, not just _because_.”

                “Well shit maybe he likes you?” Zayn shook his head. “Harry does some pretty weird shit but he really doesn’t go around kissing random girls.”

                “Don’t be ridiculous Zayn. Harry wouldn’t like me in a million years.” She leaned back in her chair, folding her arms across her chest. _We’re just trying to get by with this so everything can go back to normal…_

“Why wouldn’t he?” Grace shrugged but Zayn kept pressing the issue. “No really; tell me why he wouldn’t want to date you?”

                “Because he has so many other women to look at.” She let out a sigh, twirling some of her hair on her finger before putting her hands back on the table. It hurt her to say it, but maybe telling Zayn and letting it off of her chest would help? “He has these rich models to date with crazy fashion sense and dazzling looks. They understand what it’s like to be all famous and stuff. And what am I? Nothing compared to that. I used to work in a dog biscuit office for enough money to get by. The only _male_ that loves me is my dog… Basically Harry can do better.”

                She looked up to find Zayn giving her the craziest look. He shook his head, letting out a light laugh as he looked away from her for a moment to look out the window. “Don’t be so hard on yourself sweetheart. Really.” He reached out, placing his hand over hers on the table. “There’s nothing wrong with you, even if you’re not rich. There’s much more to a person than money and their face.”

                “Yeah but that’s what Harry _wants_.”

                “How do you know what he _wants_ exactly?”

                “Because that’s all he’s dated in the past!”

                “You know, the past doesn’t have to keep repeating itself.”

                She met his eyes, noticing a small smile was starting to form on his lips. _Does he honestly believe I have a chance with Harry Styles?_

“You know… I know you two are just _faking_ ,” he lowered his voice. “But… if you two do end up liking each other, fuck, you two can even fall in love… there’s nothing wrong with that.” He moved his hand away from hers, biting his lip. “Just be honest with him and he’ll be honest with you.”

                She was left stunned into silence as Zayn got up from the table. _Is he serious about this? He can’t be serious…_

                “I would walk you home… but I don’t want Harry to kill me and I would hate for us to make headlines tomorrow morning. I think your threeway story with Louis and Harry is enough to digest right now. Text me when you get back home, ok? I want to know you made it back safely.”

                She nodded, watching as he winked at her and left the building, placing his phone to the side of his head to make a call.

                _He couldn’t be serious… Harry and I?_ She blew out of her mouth, looking around the coffee shop as the old lady finally got her order in. This was still all unbelievable.

               

                _Harry POV_

                Harry knew something was fishy when she told him she was meeting a guy. She said she didn’t have a boyfriend, but he kind of hadn’t believed it. Why wouldn’t anyone want to date her? Minus how argumentative she could be at times… But that was beyond the point.

                _Why do I care if she’s seeing someone else or not?_ he told himself countless times before he decided to follow her out. He knew it was a bad thing to do, if she caught him he was dead, but he just needed to know what type of guy she was seeing.

                _Does he look better than me? Is he nicer than me? Why is she happier to see him over me?_

He stopped behind the wall of the building next door as she entered a tiny coffee shop off of a side street. It reminded him of how they always met in secluded areas like this.... But she was with another man now, not him.

                It had shocked him at first, seeing her look so relieved to see the man she was meeting. He could recognize him anywhere of course after knowing him for five years.

                _Why is she talking to him and not to me?_ He felt his heart sink a little as she sat down and they started talking. _But why do I care so much about who she sees? She can see whoever she wants…_ He watched as she leaned in a little closer to him, making his blood run cold. He was supposed to be the only one to get that close…

                He knew he couldn’t stay long, someone was bound to see him sooner or later but despite the fact of wanting to hear what they were saying, it hurt him to even stay a second longer. He pushed himself off the warm concrete of the building, starting his slow march back home. He wanted to tell himself he wasn’t jealous, but he knew that feeling more than anything. He knew what it felt like to be hurt as well, to be in love… that was a feeling he had not experienced yet, but was hoping he would.

                It was just a small seed of hope he watered and nurtured every day, in desperation that it would bloom into a beautiful, sweet smelling flower that would add color to his life.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked this chapter because you're really going to love the next one :)) Like A LOT A LOT. Can't wait to post it so you guys can read it!! Thanks for reading and see you next update!


	19. What Makes You Beautiful

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys so this has to be absolutely one of my favorite chapters to ever write and read and I know you're gonna LOVE it!!! It's a really long chapter today as well :) So happy reading and happy friday!!!

                Grace woke up later than usual the next morning, not wanting to leave the comforts of her bed. Happy was sleeping at the foot as usual, the birds were singing just outside of the window and she could smell the faintest hint of bacon in the air. The morning was perfect.

                Until she made the decision of finally getting out of bed.

                She followed her usual morning routine of freshening up and letting Happy take care of his needs, but something was missing.

                It was Harry.

                He wasn’t in the kitchen or in the living room like he usually was in the morning. There was no note by the front door or on the refrigerator saying he’d be gone. She knew she didn’t have a text from him either because her very last one was from her mom asking if she was ok after she saw her on the news with Harry, saying she’d call later.

                _That’s so weird?_ She stepped over Happy on her way past her bedroom and the bathroom, making her way down the hall towards Harry’s room. She had never been this far, treating Harry’s side of the house as something very private. What if he had something he didn’t want her to see that was really personal to him? Besides, he respected her space as well, so she’d respect his.

                “Harry?” She called his name gently as she knocked on the wooden door to his room. After a moment of silence, she received no reply.

                _I wonder if he’s asleep?_ She pressed her ear to the door, but did not hear him snoring. _Odd._ She pushed the door open all the way to be met with nothing she ever expected.

                Harry’s room was massive, truly the master bedroom of the place. Even though it was big, it was quite simple. The walls were painted cream, the plush carpet matching it well. A wooden office desk sat near a large window, several papers scattered on the top. Were those bills? Lyrics? Grace didn’t know… but what she did know was Harry’s bed had to put the icing on the cake.

                King sized with two ginormous fluffy white pillow with black trim resting at the head, it complimented her own bed in the guest bedroom, but if she thought that bed was comfortable this one had to be at least twice as comfortable.

                _What’s it like to sleep in a bed fit for a king every night?_ She raised her eyebrows and then shook her head. She shouldn’t even be spying in his room but she couldn’t help but see another collection of his family portraits lining another desk on the other side of the room. She noticed a picture of him and another woman, making her narrow her eyes to see who it was, but alas, she couldn’t recognize the woman. It wasn’t his sister… no… a friend? The way he had his arm slung around her shoulder, looking slightly drunk, made her a bit jealous. Not yet had Harry ever invited her out to one of the many parties he’d gone to or out clubbing. Then again, why did it matter if he hung out with other women?

                Pulling herself away from his room, she shut the door quietly, wanting to make sure he never knew she had seen anything. She could just imagine his angry face in her mind if he knew she had been snooping around. “Harry?” she called his name again through the large place, but still got no reply.

                “God I didn’t piss him off did I?” She let out a sigh as she made her way to his front door, putting her hand on the handle. The last time they talked was last night when she came back from talking with Zayn. He had seemed pretty normal? But then again at dinner he was a bit quieter than usual and dismissed himself early… Was he mad because she went out without him or was it because she went to go see another guy? Surely that couldn’t be the case…

                _Should I text him?_ She went back to grab her phone from her bedroom. She’d go outside to look for him, but if she couldn’t find him she’d give him a call. _This is so unusual for him to disappear like this…_

Feeling a bit timid, she got Happy to follow her back outside. It wasn’t that she needed Harry, it was just being chased alone by the paps scared her. If they caught her outside of Harry’s place… the rumors would intensify…

                _Isn’t that what Liam wanted though? For this to look like we’re in love?_ She sighed again, making her way down the one flight of stairs to the ground level and out the door, Happy padding right behind her. All of this faking business was so stressful… Planning to do this and that with Harry while pretending to like him had been so hard at first, it was still a bit hard now, but she could get used to the way he looked at her and said such sweet things about her to people. One thing still bothered her though, even after she talked to Zayn about it, was the kissing part. It wasn’t that Harry was a bad kisser, oh no, he was amazing. It was just she knew for a fact neither one of them would go around kissing random people. So he must…?

                _“You know, the past doesn’t have to keep repeating itself.”_

                That same line had been stuck in her head on replay. _But if Harry did mean it, why would he keep saying it was an act? He seems fairly confident in himself so if he liked me, he would have said it by now._

Trying not to worry about it too much, she stopped thinking when she saw Harry’s garage door was open. Happy briskly trotted towards the garage, but she was wary as she made her way up to it. What if it was some weirdo meddling through his stuff?

                “Ahhhh who let you out?” Harry’s voice was like music to her ears as she let out a sigh of relief. She peered into his garage to find him crouching down by his motorcycle, patting Happy on the head. She had never seen him act nice to the dog, but what really took her by surprise was how hot he looked by his bike in a long sleeve red plaid button up and tight light blue jeans.

                “Where’s Gracie? She awake yet?” Harry rubbed the big dog under his chin, Happy’s tail going a thousand miles per hour at finally getting attention. It took a while for Harry to notice her standing there, but when he did he jumped, scaring Happy.

                “How long have you been standing there?” He asked as he clutched his chest in mock panic, his face turning a bit red.

                “Long enough to see you’ve gotten along with Happy.” She smiled at him, leaning on the doorway to the garage.

                “You just saw the weak side of me.” He stood to his feet, looking absolutely stunning. Did he just wake up looking perfect? “But anyway, why are you out here?”

                “I could ask you the same thing.” She turned the question back around on him, not wanting to tell him she was a bit worried on where he had gone all of a sudden.

                “Today’s going to be really nice. I wanted to ride my bike around.” He slapped the seat. “You can come with, if you’d like.”

                She raised an eyebrow at him. “Harry I’ve never ridden on a motorcycle before.”

                “You’ve never tried my cooking before, and that didn’t stop you from eating it the first time.” He smiled at her. “Come on, you’re riding with me of all people, what could go wrong?”

                _How about you landing us another fat ass speeding ticket because you can’t control yourself?_ She wanted to say so badly but held it in. She was on Harry’s good side now, they didn’t need to unnecessarily fight. “I guess it would be fun…”

                “Well come on then before everyone and their kids are out! Put Happy away and I’ll be ready for you!”

                She shook her head at him, calling the dog over so she could put him away in the house. How would this pan out…

                As soon as she got back to the garage, Harry was ready for her just like he promised. He pulled the black helmet from under his arm he was holding, walking up to her.

                “Harry what about yours?” she asked as he helped her put it on and sat her on the seat.

                “Your safety comes first.”

                “Yeah but we’re not leaving until you have one on too.” She really didn’t want to admit it to him, but she would hate for something to happen to him if they got into an accident.

                “God you’re so pushy.” He rolled his eyes at her, leaving out of a door off to the side of the garage. He returned with another helmet, this one a steel grey. He put it under his arm as he sat on the motorcycle in front of her, turning the key in the ignition to allow the machine to rumble loudly to life.

                “Whatever you do, just hold onto me ok?” He said over the roar of the engine. He put his helmet on, glancing back at her briefly.

                _Just like when we first met…_ she couldn’t help but think about the time they got chased down by the paps in his huge black SUV but she quickly brought herself back to present day. “You’re not going to go too fast are you?”

                A small smile played on his lips, the words, “Watch me,” the only thing coming out of his mouth before he turned back around and put his bike into motion. Grace immediately wrapped her arms around his middle, pressing her face into his back. _This is so scary…_ was all she could think as the garage door automatically closed behind them. _He’s going to kill us!_

                After the first initial shock, it seemed that Harry had slowed down a little, but it was still a bit frightening. “You ok back there?” he asked. “I can barely breathe with the way you’re holding me.”

                “Sorry…” She barely released her hold, feeling as if she’d fly off if she let him go just a little. She felt so exposed to the elements, but yet so close to him which gave her a bit of comfort.

                They slowed to a stop at a red light, giving her a chance to breathe. She didn’t let him go, but did relax a bit as she lifted her face from his back. She had to admit, riding around like this was a unique experience, especially when you were with Harry Styles. When he took off again she rested her cheek on his back, feeling how warm and soft he was. She could feel the muscles flex in his back when he made turns or they went over a rough spot. This had to be the closest she had ever been to him, and it made her wonder just why he offered her this invitation.

                “Change of plans. The beach sound fine to you?” Harry asked suddenly.

                “Hm… yeah!” She rested her chin on his shoulder, suddenly feeling the full blast of wind in her face. Luckily for her, he had his hair tied up in his helmet or she’d have a mouth full of hair right now.

                “To the beach it is…” he veered off the main road, following a path he knew by heart. The rest of the ride they rode in silence, Grace listening to the sound of the motor and observing her surroundings until they pulled into a half full parking lot. Grace had never been so happy before as the rumbling machine underneath them came to stop, eagerly taking her hot helmet off and attempting to fix her messed up hair.

                “How was that for your first time?” Harry asked, a small smirk on his face as he took his helmet off as well, undoing his ponytail and shaking his hair out. Unlike Grace's, it naturally fell into place, curling along his cheeks.

                “Stop trying to be lewd Styles… _Harry_ ,” she corrected herself, making him raise an eyebrow at her as she stood to her feet. “And it was a great experience, wouldn’t mind doing it again.”

                “You’re something else,” was all he said as he locked both of the helmets to his bike. She looked around as he did, noticing not very many people were around despite the nice weather. Then again it was a bit early on a school and work day. This might be perfect…

                _But wait._ Neither of them had brought any swim wear so how were they going to enjoy the water? _Then again I rather not have Harry seeing me in a bathing suit… I’d look nothing like those girls he likes…_

“Why are you looking out into space like that? Come on.” Harry’s voice was suddenly in her ear. _Why is he standing so close?_ She turned to face him and they almost bumped noses, making her blush. _Come on Grace… get it together. You’ve been kissed by this man twice. This is nothing new to be this close._

They started their walk to the hot sand side by side, Harry starting to talk about how he hadn’t been on a beach since he was last in Australia for one of his concerts. “You ever been to the beach?” he asked, turning to her.

                “Every now and then with my friends.” She left out the part about her and her ex-boyfriend, not wanting Harry to get into one of his moods. It had been ages since she had been to this beach in particular though. When was the last time? Her senior year of high school?

                “Speaking of _friends_ … Where are they? I never hear you talk about them?”

                She shrugged. Who she thought was her friend had obviously sold her out to the media and all the other ones she used to talk to… they disappeared off the face of the earth either after they graduated from high school or this deal with her dating Harry started. She could understand they may not be able to get in touch with her now because her number had changed, but before then, not a peep. Then again… they weren’t super close friends to begin with, they always left her out of major plans. She did have one though… Jenna was her name. Girl with the freckles and glasses, always perfectly white teeth that was always smiling. Went to go work at the bakery downtown. _Should I give her a ring when I get back home… to Harry’s?_

                “Oh… sorry to get in your personal life.” He cleared his throat, looking down as his sandals made prints in the sand.

                “No it’s fine. It is a little weird isn’t it, having no one?” She wouldn’t dare tell him part of it was because of him, no, that would hurt his feelings.

                “What do you mean _have no one_?” Harry smiled down at her, putting his arm around her shoulders. “You have me.”

                She could have shrugged his arm off, but she liked the way he leaned into her a bit, laughing as he did. “Yeah I guess...” She would have pointed out that this would be over soon, just when they’d dramatically _break up_ with one another, but she didn’t have the guts to say it. Harry was happy being here with her, and for some reason, she couldn’t imagine a life without him around. They wouldn’t get into little fights about nothing anymore, they wouldn’t sit in the middle of his living room floor playing Scrabble together until Happy ran across their board, they wouldn’t laugh at the stuff the media threw together, she wouldn’t see the other guys anymore… Life wouldn’t be colorful without him, it would be bleak, grey, boring.

                _Do I_ want _to leave Harry?_ She looked up at him, finding he had been looking at her as well. “Ah… sorry…” she apologized, feeling like she had hurt his feelings by giving him a simple reply. He didn’t look hurt, but he did have a serious expression on his face. “You’re all I could have asked for Harry.”

                And to be honest, even though she would only admit it to him now in a friendly way, he was.

* * *

               

                They stayed on the beach most of the day, Harry wanting to take pictures of the waves and poke at the unlucky starfish that had come to shore to simply feed, not to be his victims. Grace didn’t want anything to do with the water, mostly fearing that translucent jellyfish were lurking in the shallow waters near the shore, plotting her demise with their stinging tentacles.

                “Come on its just water!” Harry was yelling from knee deep water. One would think that at the rate he had been running around screaming all day, a fan would have stopped him by now but there was nothing. People seemed to recognize him, but they did not stop his fun or mess up their date.

                “Yeah but it’s the things _in_ the water!” she yelled back to him from the safety of the white sand.

                “Nothing is in here. What? Do you think we’re going to reenact Jaws or something?” He waded out of the water to come stand by her. “Just come on. You’ll feel better.”

                “Yeah right, then you’ll get me paralyzed by some Man O’ War,” she muttered under her breath, knowing good and well Harry didn’t know what on earth the large jellyfish was. “I already feel fine!”

                “I can tell something’s bugging you.” He frowned at her. “You know, you can always talk to me about anything. Just… whenever you’re ready.”

_God is he trying to make me feel better?_ She nodded at him to show him she did understand. _But I can’t even tell you what’s bugging me because it’s_ you _Harry._

                He patted her shoulder, the smile returning to his face again. “So come on!” He grabbed her hand, dragging her towards the pristine blue-green water.

                “Harry wait!” She yelled at him but it was too late. He had shoved her into the deeper water in front of him. _Oh my God the jellyfish_ was her only thought, leaving her stiff and paralyzed.

                “Gracie, it’s literally only thigh deep water. Why are you acting like we’re going to drown?” Harry was laughing behind her at her reaction.

                Her mind began to clear up, realizing the floating, Satanic medusa were not all colonizing around her legs, ready to whip their tentacles along the smooth flesh. It was nothing but clear water, reflecting the blue sky and sun.

                “Isn’t it pretty?” He was standing behind her now, one of his hands on her shoulder. “Sometimes, if you stand still little fish come over.”

                Just as he said it a little brown fish came darting from a clump of plants, seeming to be alarmed when Harry had come to move up by her. A second lighter colored fish appeared as well before they both swam off deeper into the water.

                “Water’s not that bad. It’s warm too.” He turned away from her to head back to shore.

                “Just where do you think you’re going?” she asked.

                “It’s getting dark out! You said stuff starts drifting in at night!”

                She rolled her eyes at him, following him out of the water. When she caught up to him, she just grabbed his wrist to make him stop. He turned to face her but instead of getting to ask his question he got a face full of sea water splashed on him.

                The look on his face was enough to have Grace nearly doubled over with laughter. He looked both offended and shocked at the same time.

                “What was that for?!” His voice cracked at the end, making her laugh again. She stopped laughing though when he returned the movement, sloshing what seemed like an entire wave on her.

                “Harry!”

                “You started it!” He started laughing, splashing her again before he took off running along the shore.

                _I swear… What are we children?_ She couldn’t help but follow after him while trying to avoid him splashing water at her. Their back and forth game seemed to only last a few minutes but by the time they were done, they were both soaking wet, Grace more than Harry, and the sun was rapidly setting.

                “Had enough yet?” Harry laughed, bending down to put his hands on his knees. His hair was soaking wet, clinging to his face. Even though he had rolled his jeans up to his knees, it did nothing to keep them dry after a water fight.

                _He’s kinda hot like this… his shirt clinging to his chest._ She took a breath, pushing some of her hair out of her face. “Pretty sure I won that one Harry.”

                “Look at you. You’re wetter than I am!” He stood back up, glancing at the group of people not too far away staring at them. They had been too engaged with each other to even noticing the people watching them go at it all along the shoreline. _God I wonder if they took any pictures of us…_

                Suddenly he was taking his plaid shirt off, leaving himself in the white t shirt he was wearing underneath. He quickly draped it over her shoulders, simply stating, “You wouldn’t want everyone out here to see your goods, would you?”

                Grace didn’t think Harry would ever have the opportunity in his life to make her blush as hard as she did then. “Why are you looking then!?” she half growled at him, pulling his shirt over her front.

                “It wasn’t on purpose, chill out!” He wrung the edges of his own white shirt out as if that would help get some of the water out. “Your shirt just got wet and… yeah,” he trailed off.

                There was a moment of silence as they stood there, Harry fixing his clothes and Grace buttoning his shirt up to her chest. When she was done, she glanced out over the ocean, finding the orange rays hitting the water mesmerizing. She had been to this beach when she was younger with her parents, she’d been here in high school to fool around back on the pier, but all those times, she didn’t remember the setting sun to be so beautiful as it was now.

                “Want to find somewhere to dry off?” Harry was asking her as he ran his fingers through his hair.

                She nodded, starting to follow him up the beach, away from the noisy pier full of happy children out of school and the roar of the roller coaster as it sped along its track.

                They found a quiet spot away from people on the rocks sitting just a little way from the water. Harry helped her climb, making sure she didn’t stumble or twist an ankle. The situated themselves on the apex, Harry dangling his legs down over the edge, Grace keeping her legs closer to her body.

                They sat there in silence for a while, Grace trying to collect her thoughts about the day so far. It was fun… no… What was more fun than fun? Whatever it was called, that’s what she would describe today. Never in ten million years did she think she’d be playing on the beach with Harry Styles, let alone watching the sunset with him now. If she would have told her seventeen year old self this now when she first started being a One Direction fan, she still wouldn’t believe it. It was unbelievable as well, considering how they first acted when they started living together. _You would think I would be out of his life by now… And it’s going on two months…_

“Hey…” she said softly, her chin resting on her knees, suddenly thinking of something.

                “Hmmm?” He glanced over at her, his hair blowing in the cooling evening air. He looked like a prince from some story book, his green eyes catching the light of the sun, still strands of damp hair hugging his cheeks and jawline.

                “Do you remember… Do you remember that first little music video you and the guys had?” She started smiling to herself, vaguely remembering the details of them frolicking on some beach. They were all so young…

                “Oh yeah! Of course I do. You don’t ever forget your first times.” He gave her a small smile

                _He’s playing again…_ She shook her head. _But he’s right, I won’t forget that time he kissed me in his car…_ “Today reminded me of that.”

                “What? That you wished the other guys were here too?”

                “No… it was fine. Just you and I.”

                They fell in silence again, Harry staring at her for a while before looking down at his feet. _I wonder what he’s thinking about…_

                “You want to watch it?”

                “Hmm?”

                “The music video.” He pulled his phone out from his pocket. How the heck did that thing not get water damage?

                He pulled up the music video quickly, the catchy tune starting right away. Grace had to lean in closer to him to watch it on his tiny iPhone screen, nearly bursting out laughing when the younger version of them appeared.

                “This started it all,” Harry said quickly, almost as if to himself after Liam finished the first half. He raised his eyebrows dramatically when he saw the teenage him, curly hair and all.

                “You were kinda cute,” Grace laughed quietly, just to tease him a bit.

                “Kinda? What am I now then?”

                “What do you think you are?” She turned the question back around on him, still not comfortable flat out telling him he was hot. Plus she didn’t need to give him an ego boost where he’d bother her about it all into the night when they got back home.

                He shrugged, not really paying attention to the music video anymore. “Just… Harry Styles.” She studied his face for a moment, noticing that faraway look in his eyes. He frowned for a bit before noticing she was looking at him. “Sorry… just. You know, do you ever think about how your life could be different if all this didn’t happen? Like if you didn’t make the life decisions you made when you were younger? Where would you be now? Who would you be with? Would you be happy? Would you be a freer person?”

                She raised her eyebrows at him, looking away for a moment to watch the water gently slosh up against the sandy beach below. She knew what he meant… but she didn’t mean to trigger him that way. “Yeah… sometimes,” she said quietly, not quite knowing what to say. She would think about these kinds of things late at night, mostly after she met him. What would life be like now if she hadn’t bumped into him on the street?

                She already knew the answer to that.

                “I think about it all the time.” He glanced down at his phone, letting out a gentle laugh at him playing with his friends on the beach.

                “Are you… happy Harry?”

                He looked at her then, seeming to think it over for a bit. At first she thought she had upset him but he quietly, almost in a whisper, said, “Yeah… Nothing’s perfect and I’ve made a lot of mistakes but yeah.” A small smile formed on his lips but he looked down and away from her as if hiding something. “I wouldn’t change anything that’s happened so far, at least I don’t think I would. I just sometimes wonder though… what’s it like to go back being a normal person? Without being mobbed… without girls throwing their bras on you… To spend time with the ones you love in peace…To have someone to just talk to about… stuff.” He wiped his nose, placing the phone down on the small space between them.

                _It’s got to be hard on him… living this type of life._ She couldn’t take her eyes off of him as _What Makes You Beautiful_ still played softly in the background. _He has all the money in the world, but money can’t buy everything…_

                “Sorry about all that.” He sighed, lifting his head up but still not looking at her. “Just reflecting I guess.”

                “You’re always fine Harry.” She gave him a smile when he turned to look at her. “I know I haven’t known you for long, I still don’t know a lot about you, and you still don’t know a lot about me, but I’ll always listen.”

                Those seemed to be the words he wanted to hear as he smiled back, nodding to her words. “Thanks Grace.”

                “You’re welcome Harry.” She looked down at his phone, noticing it was on the part where he was singing to the girl. He looked down as well to only bring his eyes back up to hers, this slight twinkle in them.

                She thought he’d kiss her, he had before in times like this. They were sitting close enough to each other, one of his hands right by hers. He leaned in, his face dangerously close to hers but their lips did not touch.

                Part of her was cheering, telling her it was ok for him to not kiss her since everything was an act anyway, but the other part of her wanted him to. She wanted him to kiss her as the sun left red streaks of light in the beautiful ocean. She wanted him to run his fingers through her hair, tell her he was all he ever wanted with the sound of the waves underneath them, the seagulls calling to one another as they headed back to their nests.

                She knew it was a bad thing, it was a fatal move, but in that magical moment she couldn’t help it. It was a chaste kiss, her inexperience getting the best of her, but he completed it, completely dominating her with his years of experience. It could have been moments, minutes, hours, she didn’t know, she didn’t care, that they spent kissing each other on that rock on the middle of the beach, _What Makes You Beautiful’s_ last dying chords having ended ages ago. Somewhere in the middle of all of it, Harry’s hand was holding hers, squeezing it so tight she never wanted him to let her go.

                It wouldn’t hit her until later, when all the butterflies were gone, when she wasn’t lightheaded anymore from his tantalizing kisses, when she was lying in bed without him in the dark… She was kissing a man that would never love her back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that was something really nice wasn't it ha? Thanks for reading guys! This is still an absolute blast to write with all of your support! As always, thank you for the comments/kudos/subs/everything! Next update is really going to take you by surprise, completely rocking the boat so be ready for it! See you next update!


	20. Friendzone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the first update of the week! Remember I said in the very beginning this story has a lot of twists and turns? Well here's one of them! Also remember the summary where Harry makes (very) stupid decisions? Well someone else is no exception to this rule either. Happy reading guys and... don't pull your hair out just yet ha.

                If Grace had to make a list of things she hated herself for, kissing Harry back on the beach two weeks ago had to be on the top of that list.

                No she wasn’t upset because of the kiss per-se. Harry was amazing, he always was. It was just the fact she kissed _him_ out of all people. She could have kissed a bull elephant and felt better about it, but that wouldn’t change the past.

                _I’m such an idiot. He probably thinks I’m a hoe or something now._ She sighed, staring into her cereal drowning in milk, having gone soggy minutes ago. Honestly, what was she thinking? Harry would never like her back in the way she liked him so why on earth was she starting to get feelings for him? Above all that, she found him repulsive just several months ago and the very idea of kissing his face was something she rarely thought about. What had changed since when she first met him and now?

                “What’s wrong?”

                His sudden voice from the other side of the kitchen counter caught her off guard. Harry, on the other hand, had been acting normal ever since their little beach scene, almost as if nothing had even happened. He probably had checked her off on his list of _Women I’ve Made Out With_ and was slowly adding her on the _Women I’ll Fuck Next_ list. As if the latter would _ever_ happen. Even if he was the last person on earth she’d never have sex with his nasty butt.

                _But wait… Harry really isn’t like that._ She knew he had a list of women from his past, but it wasn’t like he tried to fuck everything that walked. _Still doesn’t mean I want to have sex with him… Wait.... Why am I talking myself into this anyway?_

                “What do you mean what’s wrong? I’m fine.” She didn’t even bother to pretend she was eating her cereal, her appetite gone after seeing his face. Couldn’t he just have stayed in his room for a bit longer and left her at peace?

                “If you call fine staring into your cereal bowl for the past five minutes, then ok.” Harry breathed out of his nose, pushing himself off of the counter. “Come on, tell me what’s wrong.” He came to sit on the other side of the table from her, turning the chair backwards so he could rest his arms on the back. “We always talk about this kind of stuff. What’s the big deal now?”

                “I said I’m fine Harry.” She really didn’t need him pestering her right now. “It’s just…”

                “Just…?”

                She glared at him but couldn’t help but relax seeing the charming half smile on his face. He was perfect at making her feel better, but he had no idea what was going on in her head right now. He _couldn’t_ be of any help. “I don’t know… guess I miss home a bit?” she lied, not daring to say what the real issue was. Hopefully he’d go away now…

                “You’ve been living with me for three months and you just now miss home?” Harry raised his eyebrows and whistled. “Come on, I know you better than this. You can’t lie to me.”

                _Great, now what._ She sighed, trying to think up something else. _Should I just tell him I don’t want to talk about it? No… that’ll make everything worse… He’s always worried and I wouldn’t want to worry him more._

                As if right on cue, a knock came at the front door. Harry looked annoyed as Happy picked his old bones off the living room floor to go bark at the front door. There was something different about the way he was barking today, getting up on his back legs and barking with his head thrown back.

                “We’ll finish this later.” Harry got up from the kitchen table, going to go check the monitor by the door. He shook his head at the screen, going to move Happy away from the door with his feet.

                _Wonder who it could be…_ She leaned back in her seat to find Niall stumbling through the front door, Happy all over him barking and wagging his tail.

                “It’s like you’re a magnet to that dog,” she heard Harry say, smiling at Niall as he shut the door. He really wasn’t affected by this whole thing, was he?

                “What can I say? Everyone loves me!” Niall started laughing as Happy finally calmed down. “Where’s your girlfriend?” he quickly asked, his eyes going from the living room couch to the hall leading to the various rooms in Harry’s condo.

                “What are you, blind?” Harry nodded over to the kitchen, not even bothering to decline the girlfriend part like he usually would. _That’s a new one…_

                “God thought you two had broken it off.” Niall waved over at her. He then leaned in to Harry to whisper something she couldn’t pick up. She wanted to know what they were talking about but at the same time she wasn’t sure if she wanted to hear it. Every time one of the boys came over to visit, it seemed like they were always in on some naughty inside joke that would fluster Harry.

                “Hey Niall.” She got herself up from the kitchen table after a while of them whispering back and forth, feeling rude for just sitting there. No matter how bad she felt, she couldn’t go around being mean to Harry’s friends. “Why’d you stop in?”

                He shrugged, turning away from Harry. “Just checking in with you both. And I wanted your input on something.”

                “What something?” Harry gestured for them all to head over to his sofa instead of standing in the middle of the entranceway. If only he had invested in another chair for his living room instead of the designer sunglasses he bought last week…

                “Surprise party for Payno,” Niall said, getting straight to the point as he sat by Grace. “I know we’re always in different parts of the world on each other’s special days, but this year is special. We’re all in LA!”

                “Yeah true… but this is easy Niall. We just take Liam to one of the biggest clubs in LA and he’s satisfied. That man loves to party.” Harry’s thin lips then curled into a wide grin, “Make sure there’s plenty of Vodka too.”

                “ _Now_ you’re talking.” Niall laughed, turning to Grace. “And you missy, you are going to be in the middle of the wildest parties LA has ever seen. We’re inviting all sorts of people-”

                “Like?” Harry cut him off, crossing one leg over the other.

                “David Beckham,” was all Niall had to say to start the two laughing. _What was so funny about the poor man?_

                “Don’t we need to make this a bit more special?” She asked when the laughter started to die down. “I mean, yeah the club is fun and all but won’t there be an after party or something more private?”

                “Have you ever been to the club Grace?” Harry was staring at her now with a serious expression on his face, playing with his bottom lip. _Can he not do that right now?_

“Once, twice… We both just turned twenty-one Harry, think about that.” She shook her head, looking over at Happy as he laid down on the rug near the mantle, staring at all three of them. She was lying and trying to avoid his gaze. The club just wasn’t her scene. She did enjoy a few drinks, having indulged in some before she was legal, but that was nothing compared to some hot, sweaty club.

                Harry snorted, probably seeing straight through her lie but he was kind enough to not bust her out in front of Niall. “I think after the main party Payno’s gonna wanna go back with his girlfriend. That’s his _after party_.”

                “Where do we put the cake if we go to the club?” Grace asked, changing the topic.

                “Good question,” Niall cut in their back and forth conversation as he started playing with his hands. “We can just call the club, they know the drill when they hear the name One Direction.”

                “Meaning?” Grace raised her eyebrows at him. She had no idea what these guys were talking about half the time.

                “They’ll shut the fucking place down for us and our friends. No one’s allowed in unless they’re on the party list.” Harry cleared his throat, leaning back on the sofa arm. “Which means I’m going to have to be your escort so I can get you in.”

                “Isn’t it enough I’m your girlfriend?”

                “Everyone’s my girlfriend to the media. We have to make it official.” He raised his eyebrows at her, his green eyes seeing to stare straight into her. She didn’t like that feeling.

                “Thought you two already did?” Niall popped back in the conversation again. For some reason, he sounded a bit worried.

                “It’s… a story…” was all Harry said, looking away from Grace finally. He began to frown slightly, looking out the window to his balcony. What was on his mind?

                “Well I like stories and you’re going to tell me this one Harold-”

                “Another time. Right now we need to figure this out. You talk to the other boys?”

                Niall narrowed his eyes at him, really wanting to know what the _story_ was. Grace knew what it was, but one less person in on their drama the better. “Yeah Zayn and Louis are in on it. We’re not to say a word to Liam.”

                “Well of course, then it wouldn’t be a surprise.” Grace shook her head at Niall and he scowled, making Harry laugh. “This is a really simple party Niall.”

                “Simple my ass.” He rolled his eyes and looked away from her. “She always like this?” he asked Harry in a quieter tone, this time making Grace glare at him.

                “She’s something else.” Harry just kept laughing, shaking his head. “But, this seems pretty solid right now, we have another week to put it together. How about all us lads, minus Liam, meet up and chat it up?”

                “Sounds great to me!” He suddenly stood up from the sofa, giving Harry’s shoulder a pat. “Text you the details and you…” he looked back at Grace, using two fingers to point at his eyes then back to her, “I’m watching you.” He then began to laugh at his own joke, waving goodbye to her normally. “See you at the party though! Both of you take care.”

                “Yeah! You too!” She waved at him as he began to leave, talking about how much fun he had with his family back home to Harry as he bid him goodbye. Harry let out a sigh as he closed the door behind him, shaking his head and widening his eyes in exaggeration.

                “Well that was quick,” she said as Harry came back to sit down beside her.

                “Yep,” Harry simply said, as if he was in deep thought about something. She stayed quiet, not wanting him to remember what they were talking about earlier but when Harry made a promise, he always followed through with it. Always.

                “Can I ask you something?” he asked quietly.

                “Yeah. Anything Harry.” His voice sent chills down her spine even though she already knew where this was going.

                He stayed quiet for a moment longer, as if thinking if he should say what he wanted to say or not. He was always beautiful in the morning light, but she had not seen his side profile in this type of lighting before. Long curling brown hair, dark brown thin brows furrowed in thought, his nose prominent but still very cute, his pink lips a tight line… his lips… She felt the heat rising to her cheeks but she just looked away at the silent, black screen of the TV. _Harry’s not interested in you… do not become attached…_

“Remember the beach?” he finally asked, his voice almost lower than before.

                “Yeah, it was fun.” She suddenly felt her hands begin to sweat. Was he going to be upset and tell her to never kiss him again? Would he laugh in her face and make a joke about her kissing? What if… he liked it? What if he felt the same?

                “Thanks for listening to me back there…” He still wasn’t looking at her, this time choosing to look at his bare feet, curling his toes into the plush rug. “I know it was a lot… you probably didn’t understand it all. We live such different lives… But thank you anyway. It meant a lot to me”

                She nodded. “You’re welcome. I’m always here.” _What am I talking about, Harry couldn’t feel the same…_

Then he dropped the bomb.

“That wasn’t… acting was it?” He finally turned to look at her, his face still serious.

                “O… Of course not…” she stammered, finding his gaze to be slightly intimidating. “I’ll always listen to you. We’re friends, right?”

                “Friends…” He blew out of his nose again, a small smile forming on his lips but it did not carry to his eyes as usual. It was almost a broken smile, like that of someone forcing themselves to be happy. “So I guess the other part wasn’t anything, huh?”

                She knew what he was talking about. The kissing part. Not knowing what he wanted as an answer she simply went with, “What other part?”

                “Nothing,” he said quickly. He looked away, this time looking over at Happy as the older dog got up to go drink from his water dish. “We’re all just acting anyway.”

                Those last words that he just barely whispered were more to himself, almost as if he was confirming something in his mind. She knew what he was thinking, but what she didn’t know is if she had just spoken up and told him the truth everything could have changed in that moment for both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You probably didn't see that coming but remember, I can't spoil anything ha. I promise I won't make you suffer for too long ha. As always, thank you so very much for reading/kudos/commenting! I really, really do love you guys comments so keep them coming! I appreciate everything! It's really been a pleasure writing this and I do have some exciting news for you guys I'll hint on very soon! So (really) anticipate it! See you next update!!


	21. Miscommunications

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update of the week guys! Happy reading and enjoy your weekend!!

                The time ticking down to Liam's surprise birthday party seemed to go by slower than maple syrup being poured out of a bottle. It had to go by possibility even slower than when Grace first started living with Harry, but it was only because he had went back to his old ways.

                No, he wasn't super grouchy and overprotective like before when they had first met he just wasn't… there? Almost as if his mind was in a completely different place and time. Grace hated to see him going around acting like he had lost his best friend, so she offered him an opportunity to come walking with her and Happy one day.

                “Isn't that your _me_ time?” he immediately asked, picking at his fingers.

                “Well it's an invitation for you to come, meaning I don't mind Harry.” She wanted to sigh at how aggravating he was being but she held it in. No fighting...

                He was silent for a while before letting out a long breath. “I'm gonna pass. I have to rest up since the lads and I will be going on tour soon. I'm going to be booked with long nights at the gym for workout sessions, vocal training, hour long rehearsals with prep for what songs we're going to sing live and stage directions. I'm going to be _so_ busy.”

                She narrowed her eyes at him knowing exactly what he was doing. He was trying to convince himself to stay at home and mope around for whatever reason. “It takes thirty minutes Harry. It'll be relaxing.”

                “Why do you want me to go with you all of a sudden anyway? We haven't been out together since… since the beach.”

                He faltered at those words but she chose not to think too much about it. _Well that's because you go out partying without me all night, that's why we haven't been anywhere Styles,_ she wanted to say but held her tongue. “Well do you want to do something together?”

                He shrugged, leaving his hands alone, finally deciding to look at her. “Do you actually want to do something _together_?”

                “Why are you attacking me?” she muttered, not understanding what his problem was.

                “It's nothing and I'm not.”

                _That's what he always says._ _It’s nothing when it is something._ She finally let out a frustrated, defeated sigh, getting up from the sofa. She really didn’t have time to go back and forth with him like he was toddler. “Well Happy and I will be back later. Text me if you need anything.”

                “Hmm...” was his only response as she leashed Happy and led him out the front door. _What's his problem?_

* * *

 

                All during her walk with Happy she couldn't help but think what Harry's problem was. He couldn't really be stressed about his new tour, that couldn't be it, but her gut instinct told her it was about what happened on the beach.

                _Is he that bothered by it?_ She unlocked the door to his condo with the card key he had made for her, expecting him to be on the sofa but the curly haired man wasn't.

                “I'm back,” she called out with no enthusiasm. The door clicked close quietly behind her, Happy making no motions of going to greet Harry. He simply stood still as he allowed her to take off his leash and headed over to his favorite spot by the gas burning fireplace to greedily gnaw on a bone Harry had gifted him last week.

                _Is he not home?_ She automatically checked the refrigerator but there was no note left behind as usual, just an old grocery list from last week.

                “Harry,” she called his name again in the massive expanse of his condo but once again received no answer.

                _He didn't drown himself in the bathtub did he?_ She checked the bathroom but found it empty save a pair of his dirty underwear on the floor.

                _Mental note: Tell Harry to clean up after himself._ She made a face of disgust before heading back down the hall to check the laundry room and his room, but he wasn't in any rooms of the house.

                “So it's OK for you to run off without telling anyone but when I do it it's an issue,” she said to herself as she quickly unlocked her phone, went into the dial screen and swiped over to her favorites, pressing the call icon by Harry's name. She felt a little embarrassed having Harry listed in her favorites right by her mom and dad, but they had become so close in such a small amount of time that it was acceptable. She relied on him for nearly everything, for keeping her safe, for giving her somewhere to live, to being the best friend she could ask for. _How can I ever repay him,_ she thought as the phone rang and rang.

                “God where is he?” She hung up once his voicemail came up. She could've left a message but she just decided to text him.

                **_Harry where the hell are you? Everything alright?_**

                Yeah she sounded like his mom, maybe even his girlfriend, but she didn't really care. She was worried about him, especially when he was in a funky mood.

                Just as she sent it, she got an incoming call from her mom, nearly scaring her. She wanted to ignore it, not because she hated her mom, God no, she had an amazing relationship with her mom, she was just so wound up in worrying where Harry was she couldn't think straight.

                “Hey mom!” she answered anyway, trying to sound chipper but feeling like she failed miserably. She went to go sit on the sofa near Happy to gain comfort from him.

                “Hey sweetie! Haven’t talked to you in a while. How's it going?”

                “It's going good!” _It's going anything but good. Harry is missing, we're kind of fighting each other and I don't know what to do?_ “How are you? How's Dad?”

                “Doing just fine! Oh he...” she began to laugh and she could just imagine her mom shaking her head at Dad. “Went on a fishing trip early this morning, now he's passed out in the bed!” She was still laughing as she continued, “But he's fine! Doing fine... Still a little upset at you but fine.”

                She nodded in understanding, knowing Mom couldn't see at all. Her father had been upset with her ever since it broke news she was dating Harry.

_“So do you just run off and date bad boys with genital herpes?!” he bellowed in almost a comical way._

_“Dad...” she tried but he kept on ranting._

_“Every time I turn on the TV I see him with some woman or sleeping with someone don't tell me he's any different! Then you never told your poor parents you were dating him, no! We had to find out from the telly and our friends and people at work! What do you think it feels like to hear people coming up to say, ‘Did cha know yer daughter, Grace is it? She's dating that Backstreet Boy NSYNC whatever it is Harry Skies!’”_

_“Dad it's One Direction and Harry Styles.”_

_“Whatever!” He frowned, chewing on nothing. “Harry Styles... What kind of name is that anyway?”_

                “Yeah I know...” she sighed. “Sorry about all this it's just...”

                “Oh please don't say sorry. You can't help who you fall in love with it just happens-”

                “But Mom...”

                “- that way! And I'm sure he couldn't help himself when it came to you. But I do have to say... You are a bit much for him, too good for him. You're too pretty for him, too smart-”

                “Mom!”

                “-But you do love him, right?”

                She paused, completely caught off guard by the question. She had never told either of her parents the truth about Harry, they were too bent on actually believing they were a real couple. Her mom was happy for her, finally glad she found someone and she couldn't just tell her she and Harry were faking.

                “I...” _It's only been 3 months and a half... You can't fall in love that fast._ _But you do like him... Enough to want to continue learning more about him..._

                “Yeah...” She lied. “Harry's a great guy. He takes care of me, he always listens… he's amazing.” The last part was true, he was great. He would make an amazing husband for someone…

                “Awww. My little baby's grown up!” Her mom suddenly cooed over the phone. “You two are absolutely the cutest things together. From what I saw on the Google and on TV, he really, really likes you. You make his world. I'm so happy for you!”

                Grace found herself blushing, so glad that Harry was out right now and also that he wasn't busting through the door at this moment. “Thanks Mom.” She smiled to herself even though she knew it wasn't true about her being Harry's world. “Harry means a lot to me.”

                “I know he does sweetheart. I know he does. I can see it in his eyes when he looks at you.” She let out a dreamy sigh. “I’m still so proud of you. You’re going to have to let us meet him one day!”

                _I don’t think that’ll ever happen._ She smiled sadly to herself. Her and Harry were planned to break up, this was not supposed to be anything long term or meaningful. He probably had another woman on his mind anyway… Right?

                “Yeah mom. Of course!”

                “You sound tired dear… I’ll let you go. Dating a celebrity must be tiring!”

                “You’ll never believe the crazy stuff that goes on.” She laughed a bit, thinking about the very first time she and Harry actually met at the abandoned warehouse. The paparazzi were really after them, the cops too. It was wild…

                “You’ll have to tell me all about it another time dear.”

                “I will! Talk to you later Mom.”

                “Yes. Love you!”

                “Love you too.”

                She brought the phone away from her ear, staring at the call screen right before her mom ended it. She let out a long sigh as she laid down on the sofa, trying to piece her thoughts together after the conversation. She wasn’t in love with Harry, no, she couldn’t be but was she maybe falling in love with him?

                Those thoughts bothered her until she eventually fell asleep on the sofa, Happy still gnawing on his bone on the other side of the room. His ears perked up when he heard the door unlock, signaling Harry’s return.

                “I’m back…” Harry started but stopped once he noticed Grace asleep on his couch. He quietly closed the door behind him, glad her dog wasn’t making any motions to greet him.

                _Was she waiting for me?_ It was what he wanted to think, what he wanted to believe, but he was sure she was just tired. _Tired of my shit._

                He breathed out of his mouth, quietly taking his shoes off and shouldering his light rain jacket off. He walked over to her, finding it kind of cute how she slept so peacefully. He thought about it sometimes, what it would be like to wake up with her on the other side of his bed sleeping soundly. He’d push her hair out of her face, maybe kiss her nose and hug her closer to his chest.

                _But that’s just my imagination,_ he corrected himself, realizing that would never happen. She didn’t want him… She just pretended to want him so they could sway the media.

                “You know… you’ll be stiff tomorrow if you stay here like this,” he whispered, mostly to himself as he picked her up from the sofa bridal style to carry her to her bedroom. He was out of bounds, maybe a little bit out of his mind, but just holding her in his arms once would maybe be enough to satisfy him?

                He placed her gently in her bed, feeling a bit subconscious about the fact he hadn’t been in this room since she moved in with him. It smelled like lavender, like her. He didn’t want to stay long, scared she might wake up but he couldn’t help but linger to study her face, burn it into his memory for when they’d no longer see each other again. He brushed the stray strands of hair out of her face gently, leaning down for just a brief moment to leave a fleeting kiss on her lips. It was all he could do…

                He didn’t just want to be friends with her, he wanted to be something more. It was the first time in his life he had ever wanted a woman so bad and she didn’t want him in return. It hurt, it was starting to get unbearable, but it would be all over soon. Thing was, did he really want it to end?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! Next chapter is really going to spice things up so get ready for it! I believe it's one of the longest chapters in this story as well so I know you'll love it! Once again, thanks for everything!


	22. More Than This

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First update of the week and this chapter is a long one! Happy reading!!

                Grace thought Harry was joking when he brought home the little black dress the evening of Liam’s surprise birthday party but he was dead serious.

                “Harry you’ve given me enough already.” She looked at him in disbelief as he held up the party dress by the hanger it was on. “How do you even know my size?”

                “You told me back when we went shopping together, remember?” He was grinning from ear to ear, obviously proud of himself.

                _How the hell does he remember that far back? Either way, I still can’t accept this from him!_ “I have my own clothes you know.”

                “Yeah but we’re going _together_ ; we’ve got to match.”

                “You just want to match,” she muttered under her breath. “You’re going to wear all black? We’re going to look like we’re going to a funeral!”

                “No we won’t just chill out!” He smiled at her, handing the dress to her. “We’re going to look really good together. Just wait until we both get dressed.” He placed his hands on her shoulders as he turned her around to gently push her towards her room. “You’re going to love it when you get it on; it really suits you!”

                Grace let out a long sigh, walking into her room and closing the door behind her. “Why does he keep gifting me things?” she muttered to herself. She laid the dress out on the bed, wondering just what was going through Harry’s head. _I won’t look flattering in this at all… He only bought this as a joke because of that song they have._

She changed out of her normal everyday clothing, double checking to make sure the door was locked to the room. Last thing she needed was for Harry to barge in randomly and catch her in her underwear or worse, naked. But for some reason, the very thought excited her. Would he like what he saw?

                _God what am I thinking about?_ She narrowed her eyes as she opened the dresser drawer, deciding on a pair of black lace panties and a strapless black bra. She wasn’t expecting to get it on with anyone tonight, but she wanted to feel sexy for some reason.

                _Because you’re going to be on the arm of the most attractive man in all of LA… That’s why._ She flicked her eyebrows up as she began to get changed, knowing that was exactly why. She and Harry would finally be in the eyes of multiple people at once, especially celebrities. It would be a great time to continue out their plan of being a fake couple.

                _This plan…_ She pulled the dress up, stopping midway. This would be their final act, right? They had proved themselves as the most loving couple to the media, it was time for it to all fall apart, right?

                She pushed the thoughts aside, not wanting to dwell on them. They made her a bit sad, but she and Harry would still remain friends after it, right?

                Once she was fully dressed, she turned to the full-length mirror on the inside of the closet door. “How does he do it…” she whispered in surprise, checking herself out. The dress fit her perfectly, completely matching her style as well. It was simple, stopping mid-thigh and hugging her body in all the right places. It was an off the shoulder dress, not showing too much cleavage but was yet still seductive. She looked… amazing, just like Harry said she would.

                “Almost ready?” Harry suddenly knocked on her door as she attempted to zip the dress up herself.

                “Yeah!” She didn’t want to ask for his help, but at this rate she’d need it. “Hey, can you help me with my dress?” she asked as she started her walk to the door. She opened it to be met with a very surprised looking Harry.

                “You’re asking me?”

                “No of course not Harry, I’ll ask Happy to zip it up with his paws.” She rolled her eyes at him but couldn’t help but laugh at him. They were so much different to each other now, it was unbelievable.

                “Someone’s sassy tonight.” He snorted, a small smirk on his lips when she turned her back to him.

                “Thanks for the dress,” she said quietly after a while, pulling her long brown hair out of his way. She felt his hand briefly on her lower back before he went to zip the dress up the rest of the way. _How much did this cost him but before that, how can I ever possibly repay him?_

                “It’s nothing. You look absolutely gorgeous.” He was smiling at her when she turned back around. “I’m glad you’re my date tonight.”

                “What’s gotten into you?” She shook her head, looking him over this time. He was wearing of course a black sheer button up, a large red floral pattern running from his left shoulder down to his right hip. It was halfway buttoned, revealing his butterfly and sparrow tattoos. She tried not to linger on his bare skin for too long, noticing he was wearing a pair of his favorite black jeans, but this pair seemed to be made out of a softer material. She then returned back to his mesmerizing green eyes, trying not to blush. “You look great too Harry.”

                “Thanks.” He chose not to answer the first part, simply just admiring her for a few more moments. “But anyway, stay right here and close your eyes.”

                “Harry why-”

                “Just do it.” He began to walk away to his room before she could protest. She sighed again, doing as told until she heard his footsteps return again. She didn’t move when she felt his presence behind her, trusting he wouldn’t do anything weird. He had returned to normal after he had disappeared on her a few days ago and she was grateful for whatever he had done. Grouchy and sad Harry was something she didn’t want to deal with.

                Just then she felt something cool and heavy right beneath her collar bones, making her open her eyes immediately. “Harry what are you-?”

                “Shhh,” he silenced her, clasping the necklace together behind her neck. “I wanted you to have it.” He led her to the full-length mirror in his hall. “I knew it would go great with this dress, and you.”

                “Harry…” She had to admit, it did look good on her, but it had to cost him a fortune. “Why are you buying me all this stuff?” She turned to look at him, finding his face closer than she thought. It nearly took her breath away. Last time they were this close they…

                “Remember I said I wanted to pay you back for this mess I caused?” He raised his eyebrows at her, seeming to not be bothered by their closeness at all. “You wouldn’t let me, so I found a way to pay you back for everything you’ve been through with me.”

                She found herself staring at him like a fish out of water, completely tongue tied. “I…” She still wanted to tell him it was wrong to buy her all of this, how none of this was his fault, but she knew there was no getting him to change his mind. “Thank you Harry.”

                “You’re always welcome.” He gave her a small smile. He looked like he wanted to say more but changed his mind, deciding on another topic. “But at any rate, we need to get going. I’ve got your shoes at the door, so do any last minute preparations and meet me there.” He turned to head towards the door, his dress shoes making clicking noises on the wood floor as he went.

                _This man…_ She watched him walk away. _Whoever marries him is one lucky woman,_ she couldn’t help to think as she turned back towards her room to finish getting ready.

* * *

 

                Liam’s party was wild. Grace and Harry had arrived together in his Range Rover just before Liam was led into the surprise.

                “Leave it to Harold to be late, especially when he’s with a girl,” Louis commented, laughing to himself. He gave Harry the thumbs up, making the younger man blush and fan him away. Louis gave Grace a small wave, politely asking how she was. Strangely enough, both Zayn and Niall gave her a normal greeting this time despite how much they liked to play around.

                Once Liam was led into the surprise he was ecstatic, never stopping to thank everyone for the whole party. It was going so good, the music, the appetizers that were served, the people, until _she_ decided to come over.

                “Oh hi Harry!”

                Harry turned away from the conversation he was having with Grace about what drinks to get at the bar to acknowledge the girl that had greeted him. “Oh…. Hey Candice!”

                Grace turned around too, noticing right away this girl was gorgeous and even though she didn’t want to admit it, completely Harry’s type. She looked like a model with her slim yet tall body structure, blonde hair and perfect face. Was it even possible for someone to look this good?

                “What brings you around?” Harry asked, his focus completely on the new woman. He seemed to be mystified, and Grace wasn’t liking it.

                “Heard from a friend Liam was getting older so I wanted to come out and celebrate!” She smiled at him, flipping her hair. “Didn’t think to bump into you though. Haven’t seen the other guys at all.”

                _She’s flirting with him._ She narrowed her eyes, nearly disgusted. This girl had barged into her conversation without saying a simple hi or excuse me then proceeded to flirt with Harry right in front of her. Who did she think she was?

                _Hold it Grace… remember Harry isn’t your real boyfriend. He can like whoever he wants._ She held in a sigh, not wanting to appear rude despite the other woman’s rudeness. It wouldn’t look good on her or Harry. Even though Harry knew she had a bit of an argumentative, explosive side, no one else needed to know.

                “They’re out there.” Harry laughed a bit, his eyes quickly going up and down her body. He then seemed to check himself, turning to Grace with a smile. “Oh Candice, I wanted you to meet my girlfriend, Grace.”

                “Oh…” She turned to look at Grace, her eyes widening. She could tell Candice was comparing herself to her and it was something she didn’t want, but yet the older woman seemed to be threatened as she narrowed her eyes a bit to only replace it with a fake smile. “Thought you’d remain a bachelor forever Harry,” she said, turning to him, not even greeting Grace still.

                _This bitch…_ Grace turned away from her, not even interested in playing nice anymore. She knew what this woman was after. Even if she and Harry were just friends, she didn’t like her or what she was doing. She had no respect for the things he liked, or pretended that he liked. She knew she was only around for the money and his face.

                “Nah. This one walked into my life and I’ve never looked back. She’s all I need.” Harry gave Grace a dazzling smile, suddenly putting his hand over hers on the bar.

                _Harry what the hell…_ A few months ago she would have faked her blush, but the heat coming to her cheeks right now was real. He was looking at her as if she really was all he ever needed and wanted, but she knew that wasn’t true. That was the part that hurt the most.

                “Hey Grace!”

                From what seemed like nowhere Louis came bounding over to the three of them. “Hey sorry,” he apologized to Harry, completely ignoring Candice. He then turned to Grace, “Come with me I want to show you something.”

                “Louis I’m kind of-”

                “No it’s ok Gracie. I’ll be fine on my own.” Harry let go of her hand slowly. He seemed to be annoyed but shooed her off with his best friend anyway.

                She nodded at him, taking her leave with Louis who was smiling from ear to ear. “Nice timing Louis…” she muttered under her breath when they were far enough away.

                “Yeah, yeah I know. Sorry. But I _had_ to.”

                “What do you mean?” She turned to look at him, noticing he had let his beard grow out a bit more. He looked amazing, his dark brown hair swooped to the side, his blue eyes catching the lights of the party. _God no wonder this man used to make me go crazy when I was younger…_ She cleared her throat, trying to clear her head. _You’re with Harry now Grace, at least faking it. Louis is already taken; don’t fall for him!_

                “ _Her_.” He stopped on the edges of the dance floor, just far enough to where they could still see Candice and Harry, but far enough away neither Harry nor Candice could see them thanks to the swaying bodies of people. He didn’t seem to notice Grace was checking him out, and she hoped he never would.

                “What about her?”

                He was already standing close enough, but Louis leaned in closer to nearly an uncomfortable distance. _If Harry saw this…_ “Honestly Grace, you and Harry have got to be the cutest couple in here. I can tell he’s wild about you, all he ever talks about is you sometimes.” He raised his eyebrows dramatically. “And that _never_ happens when he dates girls. Well… not counting when he was younger but still… Anyway back on point. Watch her. She’s nothing but trouble that low down skunk ass bitch.”

                “Louis!” she said in a hushed whisper as he looked behind her to look at Candice with narrowed eyes. “It’s not nice to say those kinds of things about people!” Even if it was true, it still wasn’t right. On top of that, why was he telling her how much he disliked this woman?

                “Yeah so? She is one. She’s been trying to literally fuck her way into Harry’s life for God knows how long and won’t stop at any means. She’ll try to wreck you both, I know that.” He turned back to look at her. “I don’t know how she got her ass in this party, but just watch her. And know I’m watching out for you and Harold.” He patted her shoulder gently, giving her a soft, warm smile.

                “Thanks Louis…” She didn’t know what to say. She and Louis hadn’t really talked much since he had lunch with them; he was more of Harry’s best friend if anything. Why was he telling her this all of a sudden?

                “You should get over there before she starts acting weird.” Louis frowned up. Grace followed his line of sight to see she had indeed started to act weird. She was practically trying to throw herself at Harry still. He seemed to like what he saw, but thankfully he wasn’t making any advances towards her.

                “Yeah thanks again Louis,” she said, brushing past him to make her way back to Harry. Was this what it would be really like to date him? Random women just coming up to flirt with him when they already knew he was taken?

                _This is nuts…_ She thought to herself just before she bumped into someone’s chest.

                “I’m sorry!” She immediately said, looking up to meet stunning brown eyes. She was struck silent at how much this man looked like Harry. He was tall and slim with curly hair as well, his facial structure nearly identical to Harry’s. The only thing that was different about the two was eye color, and this man seemed to have several freckles lining the bridge of his nose.

                “No it’s fine. _I’m_ sorry for not watching where I was going.” A small smile crept on his full lips as he looked down at her. “Aren’t you… Harry’s girl? Grace?” He raised his eyebrows slightly at the end when he said her name.

                “Yeah that would be me…” Grace nodded her head, smiling a bit at Harry’s name for show.

                “You two have got to be the most talked about couple these past few months. You two are really a nice looking couple, his talent and your looks.” He shook his head as if almost in disbelief.

                _My looks?_ Grace wanted to bust out laughing but contained herself. “Thank you but Harry’s the real stunner here, not me.”

                “Are you kidding me? Both of you could be models if you wanted! Speaking of which… allow me to introduce myself. I’m Chester Poon, model for _Sun._ ”

                Her eyes widened at the name. _Sun_ was at the top of the model industry in all of California, always showcasing beautiful outfits for every season on gorgeous male and female models of all shapes and sizes. It was ran by Hernandez Poon, one of the richest men in all the state, so this must be his son!

                “It’s nice to meet you!” She realized he had been holding his hand out to her for her to shake once she came out of her daze.

                “No the pleasure is all mine!” He gripped her hand lightly before pulling it up to his lips to kiss it.

                _What the hell is he doing!? Does he want Harry to kick his ass?_ She took a brief look over to where Harry was sitting, but despite her efforts she couldn’t find the slightly older man thanks to a group of people laughing and standing in the way.

                “Well if you excuse me I have to get back to my boyfriend…” Grace pulled her hand always, giving this man a polite smile. _Where was Harry when you needed him?_

“Alright. I’m sure I’ll be seeing you around sometime in the future Miss Grace.” He waved at her as she made a bee line straight to Harry, finally finding him still talking to Candice.

                “Excuse me,” Grace said as soon as she got close enough to them, clearing her throat as she sat right down by Harry again. She needed to fill the girlfriend role and not let this woman throw their game off.

                Candice raised her eyebrows at her, stepping away from Harry. “Oh you’re back!”

                _Obviously…_ Grace turned to Harry, completely ignoring the blonde as she asked, “So about the drinks, you think we should get any?”

                “Can you hold your liquor?” He started to laugh a bit, probably imaging her drunk. “I’ve never seen you drink anything or talk about drinks. Do you even like drinks?”

                “I like drinks.”

                Both Grace and Harry turned to look at Candice who was still standing there.

                “Yeah but I’m talking to Gracie not you.” Harry turned right back to Grace again, making a look of irritation. She wanted to laugh, but just a few moments ago he was checking Candice out. Was he really interested in her but just going along with acting when Grace was around?

                If that didn’t get Candice going, nothing would. She let out an exaggerated sigh in defeat before turning away from them both to head back from where she had came. _Thank God._

                “Well that was interesting…” Harry muttered, placing his elbow on the table to rest his chin on the palm of his hand.

                “Harry you do remember we’re a couple right?” Grace asked, the words completely falling out of her mouth.

                He looked up at her, frowning a bit at her odd question. If she could take it back, she would, but it was already out there. “Yeah duh of course. Why?”

                “You were totally checking her out.”

                “I was not!” Harry shook his head before looking down at the bar top.

                “It’s ok to admit you like her Harry. We are just faking this anyway,” she lowered her voice, hoping no one around would hear. They all seemed to be too busy talking to one another and laughing loudly to notice though.

                “But I _don’t_.” Harry seemed to be getting frustrated as he lowered his voice as well. “I wasn’t checking her out and I’m not interested. End of story.”

                “If you say so.” She let out a sigh, an awkward silence rising between the two of them. She drummed her fingers on the table absentmindedly as Harry pulled out his phone, glancing at a few new text messages he had. _God why’d I make it so awkward between us._

                “So… what did Louis want? You guys seemed pretty close over there,” Harry suddenly asked a few minutes later to clear the silence.

                “Don’t be ridiculous Harry. Louis has Eleanor. I have…” she paused, nearly saying his name. He was watching her curiously, playing with his wristwatch until she quietly finished, “He’s already with someone else.”

                “Yeah but what were you talking about? He was smiling at you and stuff.”

                “What does it matter Harry?”

                “Why are you getting all defensive? He _was_ flirting with you, wasn’t he?”

                “No Harry! God he was just telling me to watch out for _her_ because she’s batshit crazy. And if I were you, I’d stay away from her too. Even if we are just friends I wouldn’t want you to end up with someone like that.”

                He flinched a bit, but she wasn’t sure if it was because she was bossing him around or the way she talked about Candice. “Friends…” he said under his breath, looking back down again. “You know Grace...” he started but stopped himself, putting his hand gently over his lips in thought. He shook his head, letting out a sigh before whispering to himself, “Now’s not the time or place…”

                “What is it Harry?” she asked anyway, her curiosity getting the best of her.

                “It’s nothing. Just nothing.” He shook his head again, this time looking at her with a small smile, but that smile did not carry to his eyes as usual. “I think we should get some drinks though. Maybe dance a bit too?”

                _That’s not what he was going to ask me…_ She would have pressed the issue further, but she wasn’t going to fight him in front of all of these people. Harry was stubborn, and if he wouldn’t open up about his thoughts and feelings, she wouldn’t force him. “What do you recommend?”

                He raised his eyebrows at her before waving down the bartender. “You’ll see. You’ll really like it,” was all he said before the night went to the wild side.

* * *

 

                A couple of drinks and songs later, Grace found herself on the dance floor with Harry. He was anything but a good dancer, but they had good laughs to make up for it.

                “You stepped on my foot _again_ ,” he laughed, pulling his foot away in mock pain.

                “Don’t act like you haven’t stepped on mine either!” She laughed louder, pushing his shoulder gently. She and Harry never were the type to be too hands on with one another, but thanks to his drink recommendations it was turning out that way.

                “I’ve done a better job out here tonight than you though.” He gave her a smirk, suddenly reaching out to grab her waist and pull her in closer.

                “Harry what are you-” she started, grabbing at one side of his opened shirt. It had already fallen so far open she could see straight down it to his stomach, but she tried her hardest not to look fearing she’d start blushing like mad.

                “Just follow me.” He winked at her just as the DJ turned to a slower song. The whole night nothing but pop party hits had been playing but someone must have asked for a softer pace as the night began to wind down.

                She nodded silently, slowly beginning to realize everyone’s attention was on them. She couldn’t help but blush as Harry took one of her hands, leaving his other one on her waist. Even though she was feeling the effects of the alcohol, she was still uncomfortable being this close to Harry and having his hands on her body.

                _I am not just slow dancing with Harry Styles right now…_ was all she could think over and over again to help her from freaking out. This was one of the many things she had thought about when she was younger. What would it be like to dance with Harry and to be his? This had to be the closest she could ever get to that dream as he stared at her with gentle, soft green eyes whispering under his breath to just relax.

                “Have you done this before? You’re pretty good compared to before.” He commented, giving her one of his charismatic, gentle smiles.

                “Well it’s not hard Harry,” she whispered back, trying not to be bothered when he closed the gap between them even more. _All I have to do is follow your lead…_

“You were holding out on me Gracie.” He shook his head, making a quick glance at the people watching them. She couldn’t help but notice too, realizing more people than ever were watching them and whispering to one another. It was almost like they were the only two in the room and that thought alone sent chills down her spine. What was it about them both that drew in so much attention to begin with?

                Just then she noticed both Liam and Sophia were out on the dance floor as well, Liam singing the words to the song under his breath to his girlfriend. She was smiling up at him as if he was her entire world before he leaned in to give her a quick peck on her lips. For a brief moment, Grace saw them both as her and Harry but quietly shook the thought from her mind. Sophia and Liam were real, she and Harry were not and never would be.

                She returned back to looking at Harry, slightly shocked at how curiously he was looking at her, almost as if he was trying to read her thoughts. “Hey Gracie…” he said softly, his grip on her waist suddenly tightening.

                “Hmm?” She raised her eyebrows at him, trying not to jump at his touch. _Relax… It’ll be alright…_

                “Tonight’s been really fun with you.” He let go of her hand to move both of his hands to her waist as the singer continued to croon the love song in the background.

                _God Harry what are you doing? We don’t have to go_ this _far to please these people._ “Yeah it has been amazing.” She placed her hands on his shoulders, not quite knowing where else to place her hands.

                In that moment he suddenly leaned in. Grace held her breath, expecting him to kiss her again but he simply rested his forehead against hers, smiling at her still. “I think I should get you home though. You’re starting to look really tired.”

                _He can read me like a book…_ She breathed out of her mouth, meeting his eyes again. “So you’re saying you want to ditch this party?”

                “Yeah.” He laughed a bit. “Besides, that alcohol is going to be kicking in soon and I want to get you home before that.”

                “Always looking out for me Styles, aren’t you?”

                “ _Harry_ ,” he corrected quietly as the song began to end. She thought just for a split second he’d kiss her then this time when his eyes went from hers down to her lips, but he seemed to stop himself. He simply planted a soft kiss on her forehead as the song ended, whispering something against her skin but the words were lost in the fading music and clapping of the audience they had accumulated.

                “Nice going there Harold!” Liam’s voice suddenly boomed in Grace’s ear as people still clapped quietly in the background. She stepped away from Harry to find both Liam and Sophia standing by them now, smiles on their faces. “You two literally took the show from us. You’re literally beaming!”

                “Well I don’t know about all that…” Harry laughed nervously, scratching the back of his neck before glancing at Grace quickly. “But I’m glad you’re here Liam. I just wanted to tell you happy birthday again because Gracie and I are gonna head back home.”

                “Already? We just got this party started!” Liam laughed, slapping his friend on the shoulder. “But I understand if you want to get back home for some premature love making after this hit.”

                “Liam!” Grace narrowed her eyes at him but the older man just laughed. _I swear he has some fetish of thinking about Harry and I doing the nasty._

“No need to be shy,” Sophia suddenly said. “Liam and I are about to head out too for our own fun.” She reached up, giving Liam’s beard a soft stroke.

                _Oh God…_ Grace glanced over at Harry and he returned the look, shaking his head. “Well happy birthday again Liam!” she said quietly as he stared lovingly into Sophia’s eyes.

                “Thanks! Thanks a million to both of you again for this party. It’s been a blast!” He turned to look at them momentarily.

                “It’s nothing I can’t do for my favorite mate.” Harry smiled at him then turned to Grace. “Ready?”

                She nodded, suddenly feeling a bit light headed. She took Harry’s arm as he began to lead her towards the exit, wondering if they left a good impression on the people they were leaving behind. One thing was certain though, Harry was still leaving lasting impressions in her heart by being more caring than ever.

* * *

 

                The ride back to Harry’s condo was filled with nothing but laughter as they talked about the party they had just left. The laughter didn’t just end at his SUV, they were noisy as they made their way into the building and up to his floor, all the way until they got into his room.

                “God Gracie you’ve had too much to drink,” Harry laughed as he led her towards her bedroom. He sat her down on her bed, squatting down to unstrap her heels and take them off for her. “I’ll remember to never let you drink that much again.”

                “Oh Harry I’m fine.” She looked down at him, liking the way his hair curled along the sides of his face. He looked a bit tired but he didn’t show it as he placed her heels by the foot of her bed, coming back up towards the head of her bed again.

                “We’ve had the same amount of drinks and I’m fine. You’re not. You’ve been giggling on my arm ever since we left. It’s kinda cute but…” He shook his head slowly trying to hide a blush. “Anyway, get some sleep.”

                “Are you going to go to bed too?” She asked, pulling her legs up on the bed under her. She felt her party dress rise up even higher. If she wasn’t slightly tipsy she’d be pulling it back down as far as she could but right now she was too lazy.

                Harry’s eyes darted to the newly exposed skin but he quickly looked away. Despite that, the smirk on his lips did not fade. “Yeah. I gotta work on some lyrics tomorrow so I have to have a rested mind.”

                “Stay here then!” Grace reached out to grab his arm, not even knowing what she was doing. It was like her brain was being controlled by someone else right now, a happy, giggly girl that was out of her mind.

                Harry made a weird face at her but laughed quietly. “I have my own bed you know. I can’t sleep with you.”

                “It’s alright by me!” _Grace what are you saying it’s not ok for Harry to sleep with you!_ “I’m giving you permission! It’ll be like a sleepover.”

                He scratched the side of his head, letting out a puzzled sigh as he pulled his wrist away from her grasp. “Gracie I can’t-”

                “Please Harry.”

                That seemed to break him as she whined his name on the very end. He let out a defeated sigh before muttering an alright and climbing into bed with her, taking the other side. “So you want me as a cuddle buddy tonight? Your stuffed animals aren’t enough?” He pointed to the stuffed lion and wolf sitting at the headboard.

                “Who said I wanted to cuddle?” She turned to face him, suddenly feeling immensely sleepy. “I just wanted to tell you thanks for everything.”

                “Everything?” His voice trailed off as he raised his eyebrows. He seemed to be clearly enjoying this side of her.

                “Yeah. You always listen to me, and do nice things for me. I really appreciate it!” She flashed him a smile.

                “You really need to have less drinks…” he muttered under his breath. “I never expected you to be a weird, happy drunk. I expected you to be an angry drunk. This is really out of character.”

                “I don’t have to be drunk to be nice to you Harry.” She rolled her eyes at him, making him smile a bit.

                “ _That’s_ the Grace I know,” he laughed. “But… you’re welcome.” He looked up at her, his green eyes sparkling in the dim light of her room. “Thanks for always being there for me too.”

                “You’re welcome.” She laid her head down on the pillow, studying his face before she decided to move her eyes down the rest of his body. His shirt was still unbuttoned, revealing one of his nipples and his butterfly tattoo. The exposure of his skin always made her blush, tonight was no different, but she couldn’t help but to actually _want_ Harry in that moment. He had the looks, he was nice to her, he was practically everything she wanted and here he was right here lying in front of her, his shirt wide open and some of it rising up to reveal his hip tattoos. It wasn’t helping either with how tight his black jeans were, how they hugged his thighs and the bit of his ass she could see.

                _Come on Grace clear your head._ She tried to fight it when she looked back into his eyes, realizing he had been watching her check him out this whole time. He was watching her carefully, lips half parted. If his looks could speak, Grace knew he wanted her too.

                _Don’t just be an addition to the list of women he’s fucked come on…_ Grace looked away, letting out a quiet cough. “You know Harry… if I had to pick a person to be my boyfriend, I’d pick you,” she said softly, trying to sway her thoughts.

                “Hmm? Why me?” He settled down into the other pillow, never breaking eye contact.

                “All the things I told you before. How you’re nice to me, look after me, make sure nothing happens… yeah.” She reached out and touched the side of his face. He was warm, soft… _Why am I touching him?_

                “I wish you weren’t joking right now.” He sighed under his breath, removing her hand from his face.

                “But I’m not-”

                “Shh… get some rest.” He gave her a small smile as he scooted in closer. “You’re starting to say weird things.”

                As if on cue she felt her eyelids starting to get heavy. “I want to stay up and talk to you Harry…” she trailed off, blinking into a sleep. The last thing she remembered was him whispering good night and the soft feeling of a kiss on her cheek before everything went peacefully dark.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! I know this was quite a bit but thanks for sticking with this story with all of your lovely comments/kudos/subs! I really appreciate it all! Next update I've got a bit of surprise for you so watch for the end notes :) Some of you might be _very_ happy with this news. As always, thanks for reading and supporting this story, it means a lot to me!


	23. Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last update of the week! Happy reading! And... don't pull your hair out on this chapter either ha.

                Grace could have sworn the entirety of last night was a dream. She could scarcely remember sharing some on the rocks with Harry, silently laughing about the lyrics to Girl Almighty as they toasted to the party. She could remember Liam's smiling face as he patted Harry on the shoulder, thanking him for the party just before they left but above all she could remember the way Harry's hands felt on her waist as they slow danced to some Luther Vandross song, his forehead pressed against hers as he whispered about how much he was enjoying the night with her. It almost felt like what a wedding night would be like with her husband; except that husband in this dream was Harry, his green eyes staring into hers just before he leaned in closer, his lips barely ghosting over hers.

                She blinked slowly awake after that feeling, expecting to maybe find Happy's soft black body in reach, but instead she was faced with something she'd never think she'd be seeing in her life.

                She wanted to scream when she first saw him but calmed herself down, realizing it was just her friend. _God what is he doing in here,_ she thought, silently freaking out at the fact he was in her bed sleeping soundly so near to her.

                Then the events of last night slowly began to pour into her mind. It wasn't a dream... It was all real. She could vaguely remember asking Harry to stay with her for the night for whatever reason and she silently cursed. _Why am I so stupid? He's probably laughing at how easy it is to get in any woman's bed, mine included._

                Those thoughts did not stay with her long as she noticed that much to her relief they were both still fully clothed, confirming the worst of her fears hadn’t happened. Harry was still in his outfit from last night while she was still also in her uncomfortable dress. She had started to move to adjust her dress but stopped herself when she saw just how cute Harry looked sleeping across from her.

                _He's really cute when he's quiet like this and not being annoying or bossy._ He was lying with his head tucked in at an angle on her other pillow, his mouth slightly open as he snored softly. Luckily for her, he wasn’t drooling all over her pillow. She always had wondered what he did with his hair at night, but last night he seemed to have simply fallen asleep with it down. Part of his soft, fluffy, curly locks were resting on his tanned cheeks, the rest flowing behind him like a lion's mane.

                They were lying close enough to where Grace could see the soft stubble on his chin and above his upper lip, showing he would need a shave soon. Harry's face wasn't perfect, with several old acne scars and pimples dotting the canvas of his face and chest, but she believed he was as close as one could get to it.

                All of a sudden he started to stir in his sleep, incoherently muttering about something. She started to wonder what he was dreaming about until he opened his eyes slowly, barely letting them focus on her before his eyebrows shot up in shock. He slowly seemed to figure out the situation as his eyebrows started to relax and eyes softened in recognition.

                “Well this is interesting,” he laughed, rubbing at his eyes. “Waking up with you right beside me. Morning Gracie!”

                “Good morning Harry,” she said softly, inwardly groaning. Did he just wake up chipper like this all the time? “Don't get too used to it though.”

                “Wow do you just wake up ready to fight me?” He yawned, going to stretch his arms above his head. In that moment he was much like a cat, stretching each finger in turn and curling his toes. She got a view of his vine hip tattoos again, bringing her eyes back up to his face again. _Don’t think the things you thought about him last night right now…_

                “Do you just wake up happy like this?” she turned the question back around on him.

                “Isn't it better to wake up happy rather than wake up grumpy?” He opened his eyes again after he was done stretching, making eye contact. “You should try it sometimes.”

                She sighed at him, not ready to start their ritual mini arguments. She began to sit up but stopped immediately when she felt a sharp pain behind her forehead. “Ow…” she whined, reaching up to touch her head as if that would help the pain.

                “Yeah… about that…” Harry trailed off, his eyes going from her face and down to the front of her party dress. She looked down to realize the front of her dress was buckling open, giving Harry a great view of her cleavage and bra. She quickly went to pull the front of her dress up but her raging headache stopped her midway.

                “Harry stop being a pervert,” she growled when he didn’t finish his sentence, still holding the front of her dress. She could remember putting on a lace bra last night, one she didn’t necessarily want him to see, but it was too late now.

                “Well sorry it was just _there_.” He shook his head but looked away quickly. “As a friend can’t I admire your breasts and tell you they’re great ones?”

                She glared at him as she laid back down on the pillow, finding relief in the softness. She was in no mood for his jokes with this headache going on. “Get a girlfriend to do that with, not me.”

                “Would be easier if the girl I liked understood how I felt,” he muttered under his breath but quickly tried to cover it up by saying, “Anyway… I was trying to keep the amount of drinks we had last night down to a minimum but I didn’t estimate well. I’m sorry.”

                “Harry we had two shots. How is that enough to do anything to anyone?” She cringed, suddenly feeling like throwing up. _Why is this happening to me? And what is he talking about girls liking him back? Everyone and their dog likes Harry._

                “You forgot the Vodka Niall brought over?” He raised his eyebrows at her. “I’m going to grab you some Advil. Just stay here.” He sat up in the bed slowly, his shirt completely coming off his shoulder. If Grace wasn’t so nauseated right now she’d be blushing like mad at seeing the smooth, tanned skin of his upper arm and the several tattoos that lined the flesh. _Why does he even bother wearing shirts?_

She didn’t miss either how Harry’s already tight pants seemed to have gotten tighter this morning thanks to a bit of nature acting on male anatomy. _He’s so big…_ She swallowed, trying her hardest not to stare at his crotch. How on earth did he fit himself in those jeans to begin with, and how was it even comfortable right now? He looked like he was going to bust out of them at any moment. If he was her boyfriend and she was feeling a bit more playful she’d ask him if he needed help but that seemed so out of place to say to him. _I do_ not _want Harry’s dick._

“It’s not polite to stare,” he muttered, catching her in the act as he stood up on the other side of the bed. “Even if you do like what you see.”

                “I do not!” She became flustered as Harry just laughed. He shrugged at her, going over the limits to unbuckle his pants and unzip them. On reflex she covered her eyes with her hands, only making him laugh more.

                “Calm down I’m not going to whip it out on you or anything. I just needed to breathe.” She could feel the bed sink in as he came back, pulling her hands away from her face. “You’re still a virgin aren’t you?”

                “That’s none of your business!” She swatted at him but he moved out of reach just before she hit him.

                “Whatever you say.” He jumped back off the bed again and headed out of the room, smirking to himself as he went.

                “He’s such a jerk…” she muttered to herself, touching her forehead again. Sex was something the two of them had never discussed before, and she never planned on discussing it with him either. She didn’t want to hear his laundry list on who he had been with, knowing she would never compare to all his years of experience and the experience of those women he had been with.

                She felt both relieved but yet annoyed when he returned moments later with two pills and a glass of water. He then started announcing he was going to get changed into something else for the day and take a shower.

                “You could join me if you’d like. We could get the job done faster.” He wiggled his eyebrows at her suggestively just when she swallowed down her medicine.

                “Harry gross! I would never shower with you!” She fanned him away, making him laugh louder at her actions. What was with him this morning?

                “With the way you were looking at me earlier and last night, I’d beg to differ,” were his last words as she threw a pillow at him. He was quick enough to escape out the door without being hit. “See you in a few!”

                “Yeah…” She got up to close her own door, hoping the Advil would kick in at any moment. Since Harry would be in the shower she decided on just changing into a pair of sweatpants and a t shirt, and get her shower later.

                _I can’t believe we slept in the same bed last night_ , was all she could think about as she listened to Harry’s shower water run from her room. They had become so close over these few months it was crazy to think they’d go from wanting to kill one another to sleeping in the same bed but it got her thinking, just what did Harry view her as? A simple friend or was he developing a love interest as well?

                _Thing is… would Harry ever like me in the way I like him?_ She glanced down at Happy who was now sitting at the foot of her bed, wagging his tail slowly after all the commotion of the morning. She knew Harry was very hands on with his friends and was amazingly close to them all, just like he was beginning to act with her. Was that all he saw her as? A friend he could confide in at times and have a bit of fun with?

                _But do you really want Harry to like you back? What about your old life back downtown at Baked Barks?_ She let out a sigh, getting up to head to the kitchen for more water when she heard him shut his shower water off. It was true, she wouldn’t mind having her old life back but what about Harry? She knew she’d miss him dearly in her everyday life but would he miss her? He had more friends than she could count on both of her fingers and toes probably, while he was the only one she relied on. He had to have someone he liked more, right?

                _Probably…_ She pressed her glass against the water dispenser at his refrigerator, watching as the clear cool liquid splashed down into the cup. It seemed like as well he had another woman on his mind when he was talking earlier but what woman wouldn’t like him back? He was Harry Styles, he was on top of the music entertainment world, he had the money, the looks, the personality, he had it all. Who wouldn’t want him?

                _Was he maybe… talking about me?_ It suddenly hit her, making her nearly run her cup over the brim. She quickly pulled it away just before it spilled everywhere as Happy watched her curiously from the kitchen floor.

                “Nonsense… he wouldn’t like me: the random girl he bumped into and ended up in the mess of a century with,” she said outloud to confirm her thoughts. She didn’t know how fast Harry fell for women, but it just didn’t seem possible? Not to her at least. Sure she liked him but it had been a dream come true. She had been following his story ever since early 2012 shortly after the _Up All Night_ album dropped. She had plenty of time to fall for his media image and now the real him.

                Grace started to head back to her room with Happy following close behind, feeling quite sad despite her fun with Harry earlier. She already knew it was dangerous to fall for a man that couldn’t possibly love her back, but with Harry that seemed impossible. She was just a new, shiny plaything to him, wasn’t she?

                Almost as if timed, Harry emerged from the bathroom with only a towel wrapped around his waist. He didn’t seem to be bothered at all with being half naked, but Grace had to bring her water glass up to her lips to keep herself from blushing. This would be the first time she would see him shirtless and she was liking everything she saw.

                “Hey, why the sad face? You were happy just a moment ago.” Harry turned the bathroom light off but immediately went back to look at her, concern written all over his face.

                “It’s nothing. I was just thinking.”

                “Do you want to talk to me about it?” He ran his fingers through his wet hair before putting a hand towel over it. He was gorgeous…

                She knew Harry would always be there for her to talk to her about anything, but this was something she didn’t feel comfortable talking to him about. She couldn’t just bust out to him about her feelings right now. He’d politely reject her and end this plan quicker than it had all started but then again what if she took this risk and he felt the exact same way about her?

                _“Harry does some pretty weird shit but he really doesn’t go around kissing random girls.”_ Zayn’s voice came to mind in that moment. It was true, most people usually didn’t go around kissing people they didn’t like but then again they were acting to please other people. Harry himself had even confirmed that.

                _“It was just acting. In case someone snapped a picture of us coming back home, then they could get one of us kissing.”_

                All the times he had kissed her were in public, he didn’t do it at home or while they were alone. She wanted to believe that with some small slither of hope Harry would like her back, but now that she thought about everything he couldn’t, didn’t and wouldn’t.

                “Gracie?” Harry’s eyebrows furrowed even more at the way she must have looked. She felt so disappointed on the inside, she hated for him to see her like this, but it was impossible to hide all of her feelings, good or bad, from him with how long they had been together.

                “It’s something personal I have to deal with on my own…” She tried to put a smile on her face but she knew it fell short. Not wanting him to ask her anything else she headed back to her room, shutting the door behind her as soon as Happy slipped in as well. Just like that very first night she started living with him she pressed her back against the cool wood of the guest bedroom door trying hard not to cry. She felt like it was stupid to cry over not being loved back by someone, but she couldn’t help but to let a quiet sob escape her lips, just hoping Harry had moved on and wouldn’t hear her.

                She didn’t just want to be Harry’s friend, she knew that for sure now. She was surely falling for him but she had to stop it before it was too late and ate her alive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! We've come a long way, haven't we ha? Yes, I promised I wouldn't torture you for long but patience is key here with this story! Also, thanks for the comments/kudos/subs! It really keeps me going with finishing this whole story up, so I /really/ appreciate it. You guys bring a smile to my face nearly daily, and in return I hope I make you smile with each update. It's always a blast writing this story, and I hope you're enjoying it just as much as I am writing it!
> 
> Alright here's that hint I promised (and you'll also see I'm bad at giving hints as well lol)! This will probably be quite easy since the only good news with stories is this type of thing, but the word I'm thinking of starts with an s and ends with an s. I'll give you all until next Friday to figure it out (or silently scream about it) and then I'll officially announce it :). Have a great weekend and thank you for reading!


	24. Separation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Surprise Monday update! This week we're kicking it off with surprises and ending with surprises, so get excited! If you didn't get the hint for the big surprise from last week, you can check last update's end notes. Other than that, I still will announce the news this Friday :). Happy reading guys and... still don't pull your hair out yet ha.

                The next few days at Harry's place were quiet and restful. A few days he was out on business, and the days he was at home he had cooped himself up in his room to write lyrics while drinking coffee to help him stay up into the wee hours of the morning.

                Grace would have stopped him, telling him to get more rest but she had her own problems to worry about. She knew she was falling in deep for Harry and she needed to stop it before her feelings took over. She and Harry were just a fake pair, nothing more nothing less. She had to break the news to him that she wanted to end all of this in the nicest way possible.

                _Why am I acting like we're breaking up for real_? She stared up at her ceiling as a few cars hummed by outside in the night. It should be easy to tell Harry she wanted to go back to her old life. He was probably just waiting on her to say the magic words so he could go about getting his next hookup.

                Just as she was about to glance over at the time she heard a loud crash and a string of curses from his room. Immediately, she sat up in bed and headed towards his room across the hall.

                “Harry are you alright?” she asked, opening the door to his bedroom.

                “Fuck no,” he growled, holding his inner thigh with both hands. It took Grace only a split second to realize he had wasted his hot coffee all over his leg. The hot, dark liquid was still dripping from his desk, a chip of glass missing from the mug’s rim as it laid on its side.

                “Well just don't sit there Harry!” She rushed over to him to help lead him to the bathroom but he tried to fan her away. “Stop being stubborn,” she muttered under her breath as she squatted down to help him get to his feet.

                “I'm not stubborn!” He obeyed this time, still holding his thigh with one hand as he allowed her to help him to the bathroom. He instantly sat down on the closed toilet lid as soon as she got him in the room, shaking his other leg in pain.

                “You're going to have to take your pants off.” Her voice shook a bit as she grabbed a washcloth from the closet just outside of his bathroom door to wet down with cool water. The closest to naked she had seen Harry was shirtless the other day and she wasn't too wild on seeing his bottom half even more exposed. Would she be able to control herself?

                “Then I want you to hold this on your burn,” she ran the towel under water before heading back to him, expecting to just hand it to him and leave but the next words out of his mouth shocked her.

                “Can you help me?”

                Grace stared at him in disbelief. _Was this man serious right now?_ “Uh Harry we're not in preschool anymore I think you can take your pants off on your own-”

                “Please Grace? Just help me it hurts really bad,” he whined, pressing against his inner thigh even more.

                _I swear Harry Styles..._ She asked him to hold the towel as she squatted down between his legs to remove his sweatpants. She was careful to only grab the waistband of the pants, not wanting to accidentally pull his underwear down as well. She'd never be able to look at him the same if that happened...

                _He's doing this on purpose. I look like I’m about to give him a blowjob,_ she thought to herself as she asked him to raise his hips up so she could pull the fabric all the way off. She completely cancelled that thought when she saw the ugly red puffed skin right at the edge of his boxers. He _did_ need her help.

                _Please God let his dick stay in his boxers._ She swallowed as she took the towel from him, pressing it against the burned area. _I'm so close to him… Why is he letting me do this?_

                “So how’d this happen?” she asked, trying to take her focus off of the bulge in his underwear. Last thing she needed to do was to get the hots for him in the position she was in now. She doubted Harry would mind, but she wasn’t going to do anything sexual with him unless they were dating. It was her own personal rule.

                “I was clumsy and knocked my coffee mug over while scratching out parts of our new song. Damn shit spilled all over me.” Harry looked down at her, his eyebrows furrowed in pain.

                “That's why you should take breaks.” She shook her head at him. “You've been working yourself too hard recently.”

                “You're one to talk. I barely see you around anymore so all I can do is work.”

                _Is this his way of saying he misses me?_ She was about to respond but he simply continued.

                “We live in the same house Gracie. I think it's sad we only see each other in passing.” He shifted his leg a bit when she stopped pressing the towel against his leg to change the sides. “Have I done something to make you upset?”

                “No! No…” She said quickly. She shook her head letting out a sigh as she looked up at him. His green eyes were cool and calm, not giving away his true feelings at all. “I just needed a bit of alone time Harry. You haven't done anything wrong.”

                “I feel like I have with the way you avoid me,” he pouted. “Listen I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings or it was something at the party I did wrong...”

                “Harry I said it’s not your fault.” She gave him a stern look before getting to her feet. She hated leaving Harry out in the dark on the situation, they always talked to one another about things like this, but she couldn't tell him everything she felt right now. “Now just hold this. I'll be back with something you can rub into that so it'll heal faster.” She started to walk away when he took the towel from her but he quickly grabbed her wrist in the process.

                “Can you just tell me what's going on?”

                “Harry?!”

                “You won't leave me... Right?”

                Grace froze right then, not knowing what to say. Here recently it was really getting to the point where it seemed he could read minds. How could he had known though? Should she just tell him the truth now versus telling him a lie?

                For once she'd tell him the truth.

                “Harry... You do realize we have to end this, right?” He remained silent when she took a pause so she just continued. “It was fun being with you and all but it's time for me to go back to my regular life.”

                “Yeah...” he said quietly after a while. He slowly dropped her wrist, his fingers lingering on her skin for a moment. Even though it was sudden, she did miss the warmth of his hand. “You're right.”

                She continued her walk to his medicine cabinet, not wanting to see his downcast face. Why was he reacting this way? Shouldn’t he be ok with her leaving anyway?

                She returned back to him in the empty silence that fell between them, asking him to lift the towel so she could rub the medicine on his skin. He flinched at her touch, but his eyes never left her face. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but the words never left his lips.

                “You can just sleep in your underwear tonight,” she said quietly, not wanting the awkward silence to continue.

                “I do that every night.” He gave her a small smile but as usual, the smile didn't carry up to his eyes as he turned away. He had been so playful earlier this week but now he seemed to be zapped of all his energy.

                “Harry…” she said softly, her hand still on his thigh. She could sense he was sad and it was not what she ever wanted. An unhappy Harry wasn’t normal, and she couldn’t have him going around the house pouting and sulking.

                “It's fine Gracie,” he breathed in as if he had gotten punched in the stomach. “I understand you want a life of your own without my drama.”

                “Harry...”

                “We can get your stuff ready soon. I could buy you another apartment-”

                “Harry!”

                He finally stopped talking, looking at her finally. Even though he seemed to be trying to cover up his emotions, she could still tell he was indeed sad.

                “I didn't say I wanted to leave right this moment. We have time.” She didn't want to bring up how they'd plan on breaking this to the media. She felt like that would be too much for him right now.

                “We've always got time,” he said quietly as he stood to his feet. Grace moved out of his way, just getting to her feet when he was out the bathroom door and heading back to his own room.

                _God I messed up... I hurt his feelings._ She let out a long sigh as she held the side of her head while returning the medicine to the cabinet. She didn't expect Harry to react in that way, but then again how would you react when someone you're getting along with and have been living with for almost four months tells you they want to leave?

                “ _He’s a lonely guy, he needs a lot of love and attention…”_

                She could hear Zayn's voice in her head as she grabbed Harry's sweatpants off the bathroom floor. Was this really the right decision to be leaving him? They weren’t even dating for real but it nearly felt like it with the way he was acting.

                “Well I can't live with him forever,” she said to herself as she headed towards his room to place his clothing outside the door. It was true, she couldn't be with him in this dysfunctional relationship where her love for him was one sided and he just saw her as a friend, maybe almost his best female friend. She had to put an end to it so they could both go about their lives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys! Like I said before, despite you wanting to pull your hair out, this whole week is really going to be exciting, especially Friday! I can't even wait myself ha. As always, thanks for the comments/kudos/subs/everything! It's meant a lot to me. Updates will continue as usual this week so be ready :). See you next update!


	25. Perfect Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mid-week update is finally here! It is a bit short but happy reading!

                “You guys want to what!?”

                Liam sat on the far end of the sofa as Harry and Grace sat side by side as usual. The older man had came over earlier, wanting to thank Harry yet again for his surprise birthday party but to also check in on his _cute couple_.

                “I don’t understand…” He breathed out of his mouth as if talking to himself.

                “You said it yourself Liam. This was the plan from the beginning wasn’t it?” Grace tried not to look at Harry as much as she could. He still seemed a bit moody and glum, and she didn’t want to add more fuel to his pity party.

                “Well _yeah_ but you two looked so _happy_ together. You guys are like best friends now, aren’t you?” His brown eyes went from both Grace to Harry. When they didn’t answer right away he continued, “Well at least Harry calls you his best friend but guys? Really?”

                Harry nodded this time, playing with his hands in his lap. “Yeah we decided it’s time to end this. It’s perfect timing too, we have our world tour coming up really soon and I can’t leave Grace here all alone.”

                “I… I guess…” Liam still seemed dumbfounded as he scratched the side of his head. He then cleared his throat, stretching his legs out. “The media still hasn’t calmed down about you both, I mean… how would we continue to pull this stunt off?”

                “I can just get caught with another girl. They can say I’m cheating.” Harry scratched at his nose. “I don’t want a nasty break up story in the news.”

                _Isn’t cheating nasty?_ Grace wanted to say but held her tongue. Harry wasn’t in the mood today for playing games.

                “Yeah that works.” Liam shook his head. “I just can’t believe it I guess,” he said honestly. “You two were perfect together.”

                “We _faked_ being perfect together,” the younger curly haired man emphasized, running his fingers along the crease of the sofa. “We never were real to begin with Liam, you knew that. You’re the one that set this whole thing up.”

                Liam just frowned, not bothering to say anything as he let everything sink in. “You two are still going to talk to each other? Right?”

                _Why is he so interested in our relationship? It’s like he’s invested in us._ “Yeah of course,” she answered this time, a little bit scared Harry may not want to continue talking to her. If anything though, she still wanted the entertainer to still be in her life, even if they weren’t living under the same roof.

                “Gracie and I are friends for life.” Harry finally turned to her this time, giving her a fist bump. He gave her a soft smile but turned away before she could return it. Was he that hurt?

                “Well with that settled, I guess all you have to worry about Harry is presenting yourself as a cheater to the media and helping Grace here move back.”

                “Yeah…”

                “Harry are you sure you want to do it this way?” Grace questioned him just as Liam was about to leave.

                “What do you mean?”

                “Well, everyone’s going to hate you if you do it this way-”

                “I rather for my name to be tarnished than yours. They can say all they want about me, but I don’t want them opening their mouth about you.”

                She sat there in silence as he walked Liam to the door, trying to listen in on their hushed conversation but she couldn’t hear them as they got further away. All the while Harry was telling his good friend goodbye, she couldn’t help but to think if this was the right decision. She couldn’t have Harry going out maiming his name and One Direction’s but she couldn’t keep living with him either. She felt trapped in a way with no way out. Either way, she would be unhappy or Harry would be unhappy, there was no middle ground for them both.

                “Don’t look so down,” Harry said as he came to sit back down by her. He affectionately ruffled her hair and she turned to glare at him. “We’ll always be friends… right?”

                _You’re one to talk._ She nodded her head, pushing his arm away playfully. “Yeah. Always. Just because I’m moving out doesn’t mean I hate you Harry.”

                “Sure it doesn’t.” He laughed a bit for the first time in several days but looked away from her, focusing his attention on the TV in front of them. “All I know is I finally can live my life without the whiff of doggy odor in my living room.”

                “Harry take that back!”

                “It was just a joke!” He laughed a little more, scratching at the side of his head. “But… I am going to miss having you around Gracie. Honestly.”

                “Same,” she replied quietly, looking away from him this time.

                “Well let’s watch a movie together or something! I don’t want to sit around sad all day.” He got up from the sofa to go rummage through his DVD collection. “What kind of movies do you like?”

                “Anything. Just pick what you want Harry.” She pulled her legs under her on the sofa, watching as Happy finally joined them in the living room.

                “It’s my treat tonight?” He selected a movie and pushed the thin disk into the DVD player. He returned back to sitting with her after he dimmed the lights, sitting way closer than usual. She knew this was one of the last times they’d be together like this, so she let him.

                They shared a few laughs as the movie came on but quickly quieted down once it started. Somewhere in the distant past Grace could remember wanting to have a fun but quiet movie night with a boyfriend, and this moment right here she believed was fulfilling that dream. They started off just sitting side by side, somehow Harry’s arm ending up around her shoulders somewhere midway into the romance film. She loved the way he always smelled like peppermints or honey as she leaned in closer to him, her thigh over his as she snuggled first against his shoulder, then his chest. He laughed about not falling asleep on him but the next thing she knew he was out cold, snoring quietly right above her head.

                “I’m going to miss you Harry,” she said quietly, slightly leaning up to kiss where his jaw met his chin. She could feel the slight stubble there, sending tingles down her spine. She could remember when he was about eighteen years old and she’d watch videos of him and the other four members fool around with each other. Now he was here sitting beside her, twenty one years old just like her. It was funny how things turned out now that she thought about it. How bumping into him on the streets somehow caused her to become one of his friends thanks to Liam’s wacko idea. Never in a million years did she think she’d be living this life…

                “Thanks for everything,” she whispered into his chest as she nuzzled back down into it. He was warm, soft, and he always smelled like the home she always wanted to return to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sad... but cute? Yes? Don't get too sad on me though yet, because Friday is just around the corner! As always, thanks for reading and thanks for the kudos/comments/subs as well! It's been an absolute blast writing this with all your support! See you next update :)!


	26. First Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's the update we've _all_ been waiting on! Happy reading guys! Thank you for reading as always :) Enjoy!

                “This it?”

                Grace nodded as Harry dropped off the last box in her new apartment. He had insisted on buying her a place not too far from his, just a few blocks down. It was so spacious for both her and Happy. She knew now there would be no way in the world she could ever repay this man for all he had done.

                Despite how Harry had decided to handle their whole _break up_ situation, it wasn’t like the wild beginning they had together like she thought. Somehow the paps were calm. They didn’t bother her at all but even though she was scot-free, Harry wasn’t as lucky. They’d thrust big microphones in his face, asking why he broke up with her and went behind her back. They’d call him all sorts of horrible names she thought he used to be: a manwhore, a slut, a womanizer, a player, disgusting. None of it was true, she knew that better than anyone else. She defended him as much as she could but the paps didn’t like her story on how nice Harry was, they wanted something juicier, full of more drama, something she wouldn’t give them to save the last bit of image Harry had left.

                He helped her move into a new apartment still after everything. It felt like it was faster this time, both of them seeming to be in a daze. Harry seemed exhausted but she knew why. She felt awful for causing all of this to begin with, but there was really nothing she could do at this point.

                _It’s best we end this though… Look at him._ She watched him wipe his sweaty forehead with the back of his hand. He seemed hazy, like his mind wasn’t there at all even though they had joked around earlier. _This was it._

                “Thanks Harry.” She smiled up at him when he looked her way, somehow, maybe trying to make it better like he had always picked her up when she was down.

                “You’re welcome.” He smiled back, but the smile still didn’t reach his eyes.  He had used all of his energy being rowdy earlier, singing loudly to his own songs with her and laughing about dumb stuff that happened all along their journey, but now he seemed to be worn out.

                They stood there staring at each other until Harry nodded, sucking in air. “This is it huh?” he asked once again.

                “Yeah…” She ran her fingers through her hair, trying not to look at him in case she cried. _God I don’t want this to happen…_

                She was just about to tell him goodbye so she could end her suffering quickly but he was suddenly wrapping his arms around her, bringing her closer than he ever had before. He buried his face into the side of her neck to whisper, “I’ll miss you… We’ll keep in touch though, right?”

                “Yeah of course Harry…” she hugged him back, definitely feeling like she’d cry. He was so warm and soft, his hair fluffy against the side of her face. He smelled just like he did the first time they met, like peppermints.

                He held her for a long time, running his large hands up and down her back before he pulled away to look down at her. “We’ll hang out sometimes too.” He gave her a smile so fake it hurt. _What was the matter? Shouldn’t he be happy to go back to his normal celebrity life?_ “Come visit me sometime, ok? Please,” he added quietly at the end.

                “Always. Come visit me too sometimes ok, Harry?”

                He nodded, reaching up to ruffle her hair softly between his long fingers just like he had done on their movie night together. “Well… I’ll see you around sometime Gracie.” He pulled away as if he couldn’t take it anymore, heading towards her front door.

                _Don’t go…_ “Harry…”

                “Hmm?” He turned to face her in the open doorway to her apartment. He was so tall and lanky, his curly hair always framing his chiseled face just perfectly.

                “I’ll never forget you.”

                “Stop making this like we’ll never see one another again,” he laughed, wiping at his nose. “I’ll… call you later.”

                She nodded, this time turning away from him. She couldn’t bear to look at him any longer just knowing he’d walk out that door and possibly straight into another woman’s arms.

                “Gracie…” he called her name as he walked back over to her so softly, so gently she couldn’t help but to turn and look back at him. He embraced her again briefly in a last goodbye, his warmth welcomed on her skin again. The next words that dropped out of his mouth were like bomb going off in her chest.

                “I love you.”

                She felt like her heart would nearly stop when he uttered those words into her hair. _This isn’t real… right? No… Harry always tells his fans he loves them. He doesn’t mean the type of love I’m thinking of… He couldn’t possibly._ She pulled away from him gently, barely looking him in the eyes. “You don’t mean it for real Harry.”

                The words came out a bit harder than she meant to as he slightly flinched but then shrugged, his facial expression becoming unreadable. “Maybe I don’t…” He looked away, chewing quietly on his gum. “Maybe I don’t know what real love is…” he said so quietly she barely heard it. Before she could say anything else he looked at her, giving her a small smile and a wave before he was walking away from her and out the door, closing it gently behind him.

                “Thing is Harry… I really am in love with you,” she whispered out loud, just wishing he’d turn around and say he really meant what he said but of course he didn’t and wouldn’t. He wouldn’t love a fan back, he wouldn’t love her back, but despite knowing that, she always knew he was going to keep a special place in her heart.          

She pushed those thoughts aside and turned back to her boxes, grateful that Harry had helped her unpack half of her things earlier. She headed towards her room, holding back her tears as she patted Happy on his head. She laid back on her bed, staring up at the ceiling as she tried to let it all sink in. She would no longer walk up the stairs to Harry’s room, tell him good morning or eat breakfast and dinner with him... they'd no longer go out together or tell stupid jokes to one another. They’d still talk, but it wouldn’t be the same.

                _Would it ever be the same?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't cry yet and don't be too sad... because the moment you've all been waiting on in the end notes is here! Before I throw the good news at you, I want to say a massive massive _MASSIVE_ thank you for all the comments/kudos/subs/bookmarks and every little thing you guys have done. Believe it or not, you guys helped me finish this story and I'm so thankful for all the support this story has received. I'm the type that'll have a great story idea, get through the first 15 chapters and stop because of lack of motivation, but you guys kept this story from being this way. It's not sitting on my laptop unfinished, it's now a big and fun story that's been so exciting to share with you all and been amazingly fun to write. I know I say it a lot, but thank you once again.
> 
> Now the exciting part (even I'm excited guys you know this is great!)... I know some of you are massively excited but you may have noticed the little green icon on this story instead of the red one. You all know that means a completed story though, right? Well guess again! Remember that little clue I gave you guys last week? The word that starts with an s and ends with an s. Well... I'm immensely happy to announce that code word was **series**! Yes, a series! I couldn't end the story here could I now ha? There's too much that needs to be done! So dry those little tears and don't be sad! There will be a book 2 with more fluff, kisses, hugs, cuddles and less frustration between these two! Maybe they’ll finally tell each other the truth about their feelings as well? Who knows what fun awaits us?
> 
> For one last time, thank you so very much for reading and as always thank you for the comments/kudos/subs. Book 2 will be out quicker than you think; I've been working on it behind the scenes while you guys were being frustrated (unintentionally!!! sorry!) by the last few chapters of this one ha. 
> 
> Now, I'd like to ask for one teeny tiny little favor from you all and that's feedback! What did you like about this story, or even, what did you not like about it? Please keep in mind though, when saying what you don't like please do it in the form of constructive criticism. I don't tolerate rude or nasty behavior towards me, the story or my readers so if you have something you didn't like you can say it like "Well I didn't like when Harry did _xyz_ , I think it would've been better if you wrote it like _abc_." not "wow I hated when you made Zayn call her babe and sweetheart all the time it made the story soooooooo STUPID." The point here is to make the story better, not to tear anything down. One thing I'd like to point out though, on events that are time sensitive like Zayn leaving the group and Louis dating Eleanor, I do know he's moved on to another part of his life and they are no longer dating so please don't bring these points up ha. This story was written way back before Zayn left and finished just a few days before so these things couldn't be helped. These guys lives move much faster than I can pop this thing out so some events are bound to be "ancient" or not up to date.
> 
> And here's a bit more of good news: I have one more surprise in-between the release of the second book and the ending of this so keep your eyes peeled :). If you want to be alerted on the exact moment when Book 2 is released, you can head right on over to my profile and click on Subscribe to subscribe to me as a user! The TMAL series (wow that feels so nice to say ha) is the biggest thing I'm working on right now, so if you do receive any emails from my side of this site, it will most likely be about TMAL. 
> 
> Massive thank you AGAIN and I can't wait to see you all next book. It will come faster than you think :)


	27. Sneak Peek at Sequel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fridays are good days, aren't they? And if you know me Friday is always one of the best surprise update days :) So I told you guys I had a surprise for you inbetween the time I release the next book and the ending of this one and here it is: A little snippet from the sequel I wanted to share with you all! I know we're all inpatient here so here's just a secret of a tiny fraction of what's in store for you in the next book. It's not much but happy reading nevertheless!

_-Taken from a chapter written in Harry's POV-_  

                White smoke, the deafening screams of girls, the pounding bass… it was everything Harry had become accustomed to in his six years of being an entertainer. He got nervous still, but he took all that energy and put it into being as wild as he could be on stage, pleasing his fans of all ages and giving it his all. He’d skip around, dance the best he could and put on the greatest show possible. Tonight was no exception to that rule despite his massive headache and stomachache.

              “You don’t look too good mate.” Liam patted him on the shoulder, dripping with sweat despite the cool spring temperatures after they finished up one of the fans’ favorite songs. “Do we need to take a break for you?”

                “I’m fucking fine.” Harry leaned down to pick up his water bottle, bringing it to his lips for a quick swig. “You guys worry too much.” He glanced out at the fans as the beginning of _Where Do Broken Hearts Go_ began to play, waving at a few girls in the front row who began to scream louder.

                “Well that’s because you look as pale as the moon. We’re brothers, we look after one another, and I’m not going to have you passing out on this stage because you’re too stubborn to call it quits.”

                “I’m not stubborn.” Harry turned away from him, flipping his hair out of his face as Niall started up the first verse. “We aren’t kids anymore Liam. I know what’s good and what’s bad for me.”

                Liam snorted in laughter, rolling his eyes. “Yeah say that to the girl you let walk away from you last year.” What sounded like, “Which also makes this song ironic as hell,” escaped Liam’s lips as well but Harry chose to ignore it.

                He turned away from him, hoping Liam wouldn’t see he had flinched. He was right, but it was none of his business on how he ran his romantic, personal life. He’d fix everything one day, right now he needed to focus on trying to cover for Zayn’s part.

                Everything was going smoothly just like every tour date so far. This song was one of his personal favorites, having been written by him of course. He could really get down with this song, feeling every emotion behind it, taking him back to that day he walked out of Grace’s apartment for the very last time…

                He completely nailed his part after the second chorus, making the fans go wild as he screamed the last note, wondering just if Grace would take him back if he really said how he felt or was she in it with that Chester guy still?

                He was knocked out of his thoughts when Niall suddenly kicked him in the butt, taking off running towards upper stage. He left the other lads at their microphone stands, unclipping his own from the stand to run after the shorter man. He was just about to catch up with him until what felt like someone squeezing his chest stopped him. He stopped moving, thinking the crushing pain would go away if he just stood still and quietly breathed, but his chest just constricted more, stopping his breathing and causing his vision to start turning into fuzzy little white spots.

                “Harold?” He could hear Niall’s voice on the speaker as he broke out in a cold sweat, clutching at his chest. It seemed as if time had begun to slow down as his mic dropped from his frozen hands, the green end slowly bouncing off the floor to only roll down to the wild fans on the floor, emitting a high pitched screeching noise across the entire stadium.

                “Guys get over here!”

                _Fuck am I having a heart attack?_ Harry couldn’t move his legs, he couldn’t move his head or neck, he couldn’t move anything but he felt himself falling. The last thing he remembered was an exploding pain on the side of his head before everything went black and silent.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It wasn't much, but thanks for reading! Stay tuned for the second book :) It'll be here before you know it!


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